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London event celebrating Israel postponed over security concerns

Approximately 1,000 tickets had been sold for A Night to Honour Israel, which was to be held in Westminster

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A pro-Israel event has been postponed for security reasons after the recent terror attacks in London and Manchester.

The event, organised by Christians United for Israel (CUFI), was due to take place on June 22 at an undisclosed venue in Westminster

In a statement CUFI said: “Following recent attacks in central London and Manchester, a number of foiled attacks in recent weeks and the on-going terror threat, we had already increased planned security to a much higher level than usual.

“However, having assessed the current situation and received independent advice we have taken the difficult decision to postpone the event. Islamic extremists have called for the specific targeting of Christians and Jews during the month of Ramadan, during which our event was set to take place. Although no specific threat has been received, we have been advised that our event could be a target.”

The group declined to reveal the source of the advice. A spokesperson said: “We believe this is the right decision under the circumstances. I am unable to inform you of the venue and the independent advice except it was both from the US and UK.”

The organisers rejected any suggestion that slow tickets sales may have contributed to the decision. CUFI said it had expected it largest-ever attendance at the event – called A Night to Honour Israel – with approximately 1,000 tickets already sold at £10 each, with “a few hundred more” expected to be bought  in the days leading up to the event,

The spokesperson said: “We were more than happy with the number of bookings, which was an increase on our previous events”.

Customers have been offered a full refund.

The inaugural Night to Honour Israel took place in 2015.

A pro-Palestinian event - the Palestine Expo organised by the Friends of Al-Aqsa – is expected to go ahead at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster next month.

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