Israel conflict ‘fuelling more radicalisation than birth of IS caliphate’
THE conflict in Gaza is causing more radicalisation than the declaration of the caliphate by Islamic State because of polarisation in society and the impact of fake news, it was warned today.
More radicalisation was being created “in our countries and our streets” than would have been the case 10 years or 15 years ago because of the spread of “misinformation and disinformation” and the way that people gathered in “polarised groups”, the head of the National Crime Agency said.
Grame Biggar said that radicalisation was being accelerated as a result, in a warning issued during a meeting with law enforcement colleagues from the Five Eyes intelligence and security alliance involving Britain, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The earlier periods referred to by Mr Biggar include the declaration of the caliphate by Islamic State in 2014 following its capture of large swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq.
But Mr Biggar said the impact of the “horrific events” in Israel and Gaza triggered by the murderous Hamas attack of October 7 was proving even greater.
“On the terrorism point, we see a much quicker polarisation of the news cycle, of how people are receiving their information,” he said.
“Sometimes that is real information but only one side of the story, and sometimes it is pure misinformation. But because people are in their polarised groups that gets accelerated and it creates a radicalisation.
“So the events in Israel and Gaza are creating more radicalisation in our countries and our streets than a similar event would have done 10 or 15 years ago because of the way people receive information.”
The alert from Mr Biggar follows warnings from the head of national counter-terrorism policing, Met assistant commissioner Matt Jukes, that the conflict has led to “red lights blinking everywhere” with threats including people being “energised” to carry out attacks and an “extraordinary volume of hateful propaganda” being spread online and in communities.
Mr Jukes has also warned of the conflict being “a radicalisation moment” with “a spike” in terrorist activity.