Mayor of Jerusalem cancels London visit amid violence

by Justin Cohen

The mayor of Jerusalem has cancelled a visit to London this week following the spate of fatal attacks against Israelis in the city and elsewhere in the country. 

Nir Barkat had been due to address the Centre for Jewish Life during a trip that had already been rescheduled following escalating tensions between Israelis and Palestinians last November.

At that time, two Israelis had been stabbed to death while hit and run drivers claimed four lives in the space of three weeks, leading to fears of a third intifada.

Those concerns have been reignited this month with the murder of seven Israelis in stabbing and gun attacks. Forty Palestinians have also been killed, many of them while carrying out attacks.