Migrant inspired by Gaza war ‘revenge’ guilty of killing pensioner

A MOROCCAN migrant who had been in the asylum system for more than three years has been found guilty of murdering a pensioner in “revenge” for Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Ahmed Alid, 45, stabbed 70-year-old Terence Carney to death in the street in Hartlepool in a random attack days after the Oct 7 Hamas terror attacks.

Minutes earlier, he had stabbed and wounded Javed Nouri, a housemate and fellow asylum seeker, shouting “Allahu

Akbar” as he repeatedly knifed the Christian convert.

Alid, a devout Muslim, was born in Fez and raised in Algeria. He came to Britain in 2020 after spending more than a decade drifting through Europe.

Germany had already turned down an asylum bid, but he made a fresh application in the UK.

But more than three years after lodging his bid with the Home Office, Alid’s claim had still not been settled when he launched his attack. Questions have been raised about both the validity of his asylum claim and the length of time it had taken to process.

Jill Mortimer, the Conservative MP for Hartlepool, said: “This shocking murder has shaken the town. The question of course remains, though, why this dangerous individual was here.”

A Home Office spokesman refused to discuss Alid’s case or explain why his application had not been resolved.

In December 2022, Rishi Sunak promised to tackle the asylum backlog, which included almost 100,000 cases that were awaiting an initial decision.

Alid claimed he had left North Africa for Spain in 2007 and spent years travelling around Europe.

He travelled to Britain from the Netherlands by ferry in 2020. After applying for asylum he was placed in Home Office-approved accommodation in Hartlepool, where he regularly clashed with the other tenants over trivial matters.

His housemates reported a concerning and sinister change in his behaviour following the Oct 7 attacks in Israel.

The trial was told that on Oct 15, Alid broke into the bedroom of one of his housemates and attacked him while he was sleeping.

Afterwards, he ran out into the street and, on coming across Mr Carney, who was on an early morning walk, repeatedly stabbed him.

Alid admitted Mr Carney had been “innocent”, but justified the attack by saying Britain had created the “Zionist entity” of Israel and should make them leave Gaza, adding: “They killed children and I killed an old man.”

In a statement, Mr Carney’s family said: “Whilst today’s guilty verdict will not bring back Terence, our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, we can take some small comfort in knowing that justice has been served.”