❓WHAT HAPPENED: A restaurant owner in England is accused of planning a gun attack targeting Jews.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Walid Saadaoui, a 38-year-old Tunisian national, co-defendant Amar Hussain, 52, and Saadaoui’s brother, Bilel Saadaoui, 36.
📍WHEN & WHERE: An attack was allegedly plotted between December 2023 and May 2024. Saadaoui owned a restaurant in Great Yarmouth before moving to Wigan.
🎯IMPACT: Police intervention reportedly prevented a potential mass casualty event. All defendants are denying the charges.
A Tunisian immigrant restaurant owner, Walid Saadaoui, is on trial at Preston Crown Court in England, accused of plotting a mass shooting targeting Jews. Prosecutors claim he intended to cause “untold harm.” Saadaoui, who denies preparing acts of terrorism, told jurors he arrived in the United Kingdom in 2012, worked in Clacton-on-Sea, and later bought the Albatross restaurant in Great Yarmouth in 2018. “I wanted to progress in life. I wanted to be my own boss,” he said, describing the restaurant as a thriving venue that hosted weddings and birthday parties.
Prosecutors allege that Saadaoui, his brother Bilel, and co-defendant Amar Hussain unknowingly disclosed details of their planned attack to an undercover officer. Saadaoui and Hussain both deny preparing acts of terrorism, while Bilel is accused of failing to disclose information about the alleged plot. Saadaoui is scheduled to give further evidence later this week.
The trial unfolds amid intensifying concerns about the safety and security of Jews in Britain. Jewish organisations have reported rising levels of anti-Semitic incidents in recent years, with community surveys showing that a growing number of British Jews feel less safe in public spaces. Tensions have been especially high following the fatal attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester, carried out by a Syrian migrant, Jihad al-Shamie, during Yom Kippur. Two worshippers were killed in that attack. Authorities later confirmed that al-Shamie had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. It also emerged that al-Shamie had been on bail in a rape investigation at the time of the attack, raising further questions about risk assessment and monitoring.
Concerns have been further heightened by recent policing decisions, including restrictions placed on Israeli Jewish soccer fans attending certain matches in areas with large numbers of Muslims due to security fears. National and local officials have warned that no British city should become a “no-go area” for Jews.
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