TV presenter Rachel Riley apologises for “intifada” tweet that was “misunderstood”

nme.com:

Countdown presenter Rachel Riley has apologised after a backlash over a tweet regarding the Sydney mall stabbing.Over the weekend, six people were killed and others injured in a stabbing attack at the Westfield Bondi Junction Mall in Sydney, with the perpetrator identified as a man called Joel Cauchi, who was later shot dead by police.Following the attack, Riley shared a tweet in which she wrongly claimed that the attack was linked to “globalised intifada”.

Police have claimed that the attack was “related to the mental health” of Cauchi and that there was “no ideological motivation” (via BBC News).In the since-deleted post, the presenter wrote: “For 6 months now, people have been out on our streets proudly calling for the ‘Intifada Revolution.’ If you want to know what ‘Globalised Intifada’ looks like, see the Sydney Mall.

5 victims stabbed to death and 8 transferred to hospital, including a baby, due to one man and a knife.“In the second intifada over 1,000 Israelis were murdered in restaurants, on buses and in the streets by suicide bombings, stabbings, stoning, lynching, shooting rockets.

The youngest victim was just 9 hours old. Sydney mall, multiple times over is what they’ve been proudly calling for.”The tweet has sparked a backlash on social media, with some accusing the presenter of Islamaphobia.