Moroccan man convicted of murder in UK, citing Gaza war as motive

A Moroccan asylum seeker who stabbed a random pensioner to death, telling British police he carried out the attack because Israel had “killed children” in Gaza, was convicted of murder on Thursday.

Ahmed Alid, 45, stabbed 70-year-old Terence Carney six times after a chance meeting in the street in Hartlepool, north east England, on October 15, 2023 — eight days after Hamas militants attacked Israel.

Alid also attacked his housemate Javed Nouri, a Christian convert, and assaulted two police officers.

He shouted “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is greatest”, as he repeatedly wounded the sleeping Nouri in the chest, Teesside Crown Court heard at the start of his trial.

The 31-year-old survived the assault but Carney died after being stabbed six times in the chest, abdomen and back.

The jury at Teesside Crown Court unanimously found Alid guilty of murdering Carney, attempting to murder Nouri and assaulting the two police officers.

Police arrested Alid close to the murder scene with a bloody knife in his waistband, and he later told officers that he had acted because of the Gaza war, the court heard.

“He said he had wanted to kill them because of the conflict in Gaza and to further his desire that Palestine would be free from the Zionists, by which he meant Israel,” prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford said.

“The defendant said he would have killed more people if he had been able to do so.”

Sandiford added Alid had described Carney as an “innocent victim” during his interrogation, but that he had been killed “because Britain had created the Zionist entity — Israel — and should make it leave.”

“They killed children and I killed an old man,” he told officers, the prosecutor said.

Cleveland Police’s Deputy Chief Constable Victoria Fuller said the killing “shook the local community to its core”.

“Alid’s actions not only left a family devastated, but also caused significant fear and distress amongst residents in Hartlepool and beyond,” she said.

Alid will be sentenced on May 17.