MSNBC translator Jacob Keryakes spoke with MSNBC’s Alex Witt about the Arab world’s reaction to the most recent attacks in London on Thursday, including the significant links that are being drawn between Thursday's attacks and an Arab website that had a warning two days prior to the incident.
To read an excerpt of their conversation, continue to the text below. To watch the video, click on the “Launch” button to the right.
Alex Witt: Though there were no fatalities, today’s attacks are a chilling reminder of the blasts two weeks ago today … what are hearing?
Jacob Keryakes: Well Al-Jazeera did the live coverage of the events since the very beginning. They had many experts of TV, some of the experts were Westerners such as a (English) Parliament member George Galloway from London, who said that this was a punishment for the British government for it’s policies in Iraq and Palestine. He also called President Bush, Tony Blair and Arial Sharon the axis of evil, and we (said) should stop supporting Israel because they are reaping what we deserve.
Also others are trying to draw a link between these attacks and a statement that was posted online two days ago by a group claiming to be closely associated with al-Qaida saying that they have warned Europe and they are giving them an ultimatum of one month to withdraw their forces from Iraq, otherwise they will see some actions in their capitals.
Witt: So do you get the sense that their take on this incident was to have political motivation, or to cause fatalities, or to instill fear in Londoners, or all of the above?
Keryakes: The tone of most of the Arab channels is trying to draw a link between what’s happening in London and the situation in the Middle East and in Iraq. They’re saying that unless they stop invading these countries, unless they stop supporting Israel, we are going to see more and more of these attacks in the West.
