Man jailed for life over failed knife attack at Israeli embassy in London

Abdullah Albadri had arrived in the UK on a small boat 16 days before attempting to carry out the attack

A failed asylum seeker who tried to break into the Israeli embassy in London to carry out a knife attack has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.

The 34-year-old from Kuwait had arrived in the UK on a small boat 16 days earlier, having first entered country illegally four years earlier.

The court heard how he was motivated to plot the attack by the death of Palestinians in Gaza and planned the attack after sleeping rough in the capital.

He crossed the Channel again in April 2025 and was housed in a hotel in Basingstoke for three days, before being told he was not eligible for accommodation due to his outstanding asylum application.

The embassy is located on a street which is home to several large diplomatic buildings and has a round-the-clock police presence.

The armed officers dragged him down from the railings and detained him.

Albadri was detained as he tried to scale a fence outside the Israeli embassy

When he was searched, police found two 10cm (4ins)-long blades and a handwritten copy of a verse titled "the benefit of martyrdom".

During a later interview at a police station, he said he had wanted "to do something to stop the war".

Prosecutor Catherine Pattison said Albadri "intended to do something that would have resulted in the sacrifice of his life".

Defence barrister Chris Henley said Albadri's plan "could never ever have succeeded", adding "there was no serious risk of any harm to anybody".