UK authorities have charged a 45-year-old man with the stabbing of two Jewish men in the Golders Green area of London. The attack on Wednesday left a 34-year-old and a 76-year-old injured; one has been discharged from hospital, the other is in stable condition.

Following the incident, the British government raised the national terrorism threat level to its second-highest, indicating officials believe a terrorist attack is highly likely within the next six months.

Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley described it as "another horrendous act of violence directed against our Jewish communities." The Golders Green attack has been labeled an act of terrorism.

Essa S., a Somalia-born British citizen residing in London, is expected to make his first court appearance Friday. He faces two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place related to the Golders Green attack. He also faces a third count of attempted murder over an incident elsewhere in the city earlier the same day that left a man with minor injuries.

Police said the suspect had been referred to the government's Prevent program aimed at stopping radicalization, but his file was later closed without explanation.

The Golders Green stabbings are the latest in a string of attacks on London's Jewish community. Several arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites have occurred in London in recent weeks.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to increase security for the Jewish community and "do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out." London Mayor Sadiq Khan said "London's Jewish community have been the target of a series of shocking antisemitic attacks" and that "there must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society."

Source: www.dw.com