A Portsmouth man was arrested on Thursday for involvement in the Finchley Reform Synagogue arson attempt, the Metropolitan Police (the Met) announced, making him the third person arrested for the incident, which was part of a wave of attacks on London Jewish, Israeli, and Iranian dissident sites.
The 19-year-old joined a 38-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man who were arrested at the same Watford address on April 15, the same day of the attack.
No damage was caused when two masked individuals threw a brick at firebombs that were laid next to the synagogue. When the bottles filled with accelerant did not ignite, the suspects fled the scene.
“We are continuing to make progress in all our ongoing investigations linked to various recent arson attacks across London,” said Counter Terrorism Policing London head Commander Helen Flanagan.
Police said that the arrest of the Portsmouth resident marked the 30th arrest since the wave of attacks began in March.
However, this appears to contradict a previous statement on Monday, when police said they had already reached 30 following the arrest of two suspects in last Monday’s arson of a Golders Green memorial wall for Iranian protesters.
Nine people have been charged, and one has been convicted.
On Tuesday, a former synagogue in East London was targeted in an arson, but it caused little damage. The Met said that it was aware of the change in use of the building and was still exploring the motive.
Attacks began in March with Hatzolah ambulances
The spate of attacks in London began with the arson of four Hatzola ambulances in the Golders Green area on March 23.
On the same day as the Finchley synagogue attack, suspected arsonists threw a burning container into the parking lot of the news outlet Iran International, but the fire died out on its own.
Another building that was once the premises of a Jewish group and still had the organization’s name written on the window was the target of an arson attempt on April 17. Three bottles containing accelerants were placed next to a building and set alight.
The bottles failed to fully ignite, but minor damage was caused to the storefront.
On April 19, the Kenton United Synagogue was firebombed, causing minor smoke damage to a room, but no injuries.
Most of the attacks were claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, with the most high-profile being the Golders Green stabbing attack last Wednesday, in which a 45-year-old Somali-born terrorist wounded two people before being subdued by police and Jewish neighborhood watch volunteers.