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In north-west London, four men have admitted to committing arson that destroyed four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community charity, resulting in £1 million worth of damage. The individuals—Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, and both Judex Atshatshi and Saif Ali, aged 18—entered guilty pleas at the Old Bailey to charges of damaging property recklessly, with potential endangerment to life.
The incident occurred in the early hours of March 23, when the group set fire to four ambulances operated by the charity Hatzola in the Golders Green area. Prosecutors suggested the attack was deliberately aimed at the Jewish community. According to court reports, three of the men directly ignited the vehicles, while the fourth remained nearby in a car. The fires caused gas canisters inside the ambulances to explode, amplifying the destruction. Each ambulance was valued at around £250,000, and the fire also damaged electrical charging stations and cables, each costing approximately £5,000.
During the proceedings, prosecutor Leo Seelig indicated that the Crown Prosecution Service intended to argue for sentencing the four individuals with the attack categorized as terrorism-related. However, Mrs Justice Cheema Grubb declined to make a ruling on whether the act should be defined as terrorism at this point, noting that defence lawyers disputed any such link due to lack of evidence. The judge further stated that sentencing for the four men would wait until after a trial involving a fifth individual, Subhan Ahmed, who is accused of assisting an offender and has denied the charge.
The four defendants, Iqbal and Khan from Leyton, Atshatshi from Dagenham, and Ali from Walthamstow, were all remanded into custody. The charity affected, Hatzola, has been providing emergency medical services in the predominantly Jewish community of Golders Green since 1979. This volunteer-run organization, whose name means “save” or “rescue” in Hebrew, offers free emergency medical response and hospital transportation regardless of the patient’s faith
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