UK police were Wednesday investigating the stabbings of two Jewish men in north London as a "terrorist incident", the knifing following a series of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites.
King Charles III and Prime Minister Keir Starmer led the condemnation of the "appalling" late morning assaults in Golders Green, home to a large Jewish population.Â
Police said a 45-year-old man had been arrested after having also tried to stab officers. The two victims -- aged 76 and 34 -- were in a stable condition in hospital.
Speaking from the scene and facing shouts of "Shame on You" from a few hecklers, Metropolitan police commissioner Mark Rowley said the suspect had "a history of serious violence and mental health issues".
A little-known group believed to be linked to Iran, and which has claimed responsibility for the London arson attacks, said one of its "lone wolves" was behind the stabbings, the SITE Intelligence Group reported.
Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) -- meaning The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand -- made the uncorroborated claim in a video posted online, according to SITE.
- Urgent government meeting -
Local resident Moshie, 20, said he had been "shocked" by the incident.
It feels like the violence was "escalating," he told AFP. "Whenever I look around I have one thing in mind. Does this person have a knife? That's our life now."
Starmer convened an emergency meeting of senior ministers and officials, telling broadcasters later he would meet Thursday with "criminal justice agencies to make sure that we have effective and swift justice in these cases".
"The government is taking action in relation to security, cohesion, extremism," he added.Â
"But of course it's our responsibility to co-ordinate the immediate response here to this appalling attack, to ensure security is in place."
- 'Horrific attack' -
King Charles III, who is on a state visit to the United States, said he was "deeply concerned" in a statement issued by Buckingham Palace.
The stabbings follow a spate of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in north London in recent weeks that have heightened security fears.Â
"After attacks on synagogues, Jewish institutions, community ambulances and now Jews targeted in Golders Green, the UK government can no longer claim this is under control," Israel's foreign ministry said on X.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said the stabbings had been declared "a terrorist incident".
He noted his officers and the capital's Metropolitan police were "working with the security services to ensure we have a full intelligence picture".
The incident unfolded shortly after 11:00 am (1000 GMT), when the Shomrim Jewish neighbourhood watch group first reported that a knife-wielding man was "attempting to stab Jewish members of the public".
Shomrim members helped detain the suspect before police arrived and subdued him using an electroshock weapon. The response of the Jewish volunteers' earned widespread praise.
The victims were also treated at the scene by Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer ambulance service.
The stabbings follow a deadly assault on a synagogue in Manchester last October on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur that killed two people and seriously injured three.
- 'Intolerable' -
"Why do we have to live in fear? We're doing our best to live our lives as normal as possible, but every day is a struggle," Shomrim volunteer Stephen Bak told AFP Wednesday.
Ephraim Mirvis, Britain's chief rabbi, said the community was "strong" and "resilient" but "such attacks need to stop now".
"Zero tolerance -- that's what our community wants," he told reporters.
The first London attack in late March saw four ambulances belonging to Hatzola set ablaze.
Other incidents have followed, including an attack on the Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow as well as the premises of a Jewish charity.
Last week, the Finchley Reform Synagogue was targeted.
Police have arrested 28 people in total over the various attacks -- including Wednesday's -- launched since the start of the US-Iran war on Iran on February 28.
HAYI has claimed responsibility for many of them, and a spate of similar incidents across Europe in the last two months.
Monitoring groups have reported a surge in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in Britain, particularly since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
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