'I AM SORRY'
Countdown star Rachel Riley deletes sick Twitter post comparing Sydney mall stabbing horror to pro-Palestinian uprising
The Countdown star has since clarified her twisted comments
COUNTDOWN star Rachel Riley has been forced to delete a sick Twitter post after comparing the Sydney mall stabbing horror to a pro-Palestinian uprising.
The TV presenter, 38, is facing calls to be sacked from her Channel 4 show after a shock insensitive tweet was sent just hours after six people were killed in Australia.
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Rampaging knifeman Joel Cauchi murdered the innocent shoppers at Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday before being shot dead himself.
In the now-deleted post, Riley compared the savage attack to the "globalised Infitada" movement.
"Globalise the Intifada" is a term used by pro-Palestinian activists which calls for aggressive resistance against Israel and its supporters.
Proud Jewish Riley has been vocal on social media about her support for Israel ever since Hamas' attack in October last year.
Following the Sydney terror, Riley wrote: "For six 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.
"Five victims stabbed to death and eight 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 nine hours old.
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"Sydney Mall, multiple times over is what they've been proudly calling for."
The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant sparked outrage with the lengthy tweet.
Sydney attacker who killed 6 shoppers unmasked as surfer, 40, who was ‘obsessed with knives’ & worked as male escort
Forced to delete it and issue an apology, Riley has since said her post has been wildly "misunderstood".
Defending herself on Sunday, Riley tweeted: "Just to clarify, my intention with this tweet was not to say this attack was caused by any ideation or to link it to Islamic extremism.
"At the time we did not know who the attacker was, and as such I made no reference.
"My aim was to highlight the weekly calls for 'intifada' being tolerated in London and around the world, which in actuality means violence on our streets.
"For six months now, I have avoided taking the tube, or going with my kids to anywhere near the marches each Saturday, and each week we see the extremist chants on proud display with little outcry.
Who is Rachel Riley?
Rachel was born in Rochford, Essex, England in January 1986.
The 38-year-old replaced Carol Vorderman and became co-host of Countdown on Channel 4 in 2009.
Since then she has co-presented more than 1,000 episodes of the show
She is married to former Strictly star Pasha Kovalev and they have two children together.
Before her career in television, she studied mathematics at Oriel College, Oxford, before working as a statistical analyst for a start-up price comparison website.
As well as Strictly and Countdown, Rachel has appeared in The Gadget Show, It's Not Rocket Science and the comedy version of Countdown - 8 Out of 10 Cats does Countdown.
She also worked on Sky Sports shows Friday Night Football and Fantasy Football Club alongside Jeff Stelling, Max Rushden and Paul Merson.
"Sadly, the type of attack seen in Sydney yesterday is exactly the kind of violence the previous intifada involved and I hope to avoid in future, but in my opinion ignoring the problem won't make it go away.
"Attacks on Jews have recently become repackaged as 'resistance' in some circles, and we should in one voice condemn all acts of violence, whoever the perpetrators and whoever the victims.
"I am sorry if this message was misunderstood, that was not my intention."
The mum-of-two previously spoke out about the hatred she has witnessed towards Brit Jews since the attack on Israel.
Riley told MailOnline last year: "Sometimes I go online and I'm terrified by this huge overwhelming amount of people who seem to be baying for blood.
"For me and my Jewish friends, the pain and the stress are something we are all struggling with.
"We are crying when we wake up, we are struggling to sleep and the images of carnage are hard to get out of your head."
A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: "We have reminded Rachel of her obligations as a contributor to Channel 4 programming."
SYDNEY MALL RAMPAGE
Her latest outspoken campaign comes after rampaging knifeman Joel Cauchi murdered six people at a mall in Bondi on Saturday.
Hero cop Inspector Amy Scott single-handedly confronted Cauchi, 40, as he stalked victims at Westfield Bondi Junction and shot him dead.
The inspector, who happened to be nearby at the time of the attack, fired at the assailant after he turned on her and raised a knife.
Cauchi attacked 17 people - three men and 14 women - during his horror rampage.
Among the wounded were a nine-month-old baby girl and her mum Dr Ashlee Good, 38, who died from her injuries in hospital.
Before Dr Good tragically died in hospital, five others were declared dead in the shopping centre - Jade Young, 47, Pikria Darchia, 55, Dawn Singleton, 25, Ashlee Good, 38, and Cheng Yixuan, 27.
Security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, was the only man killed in the horrific onslaught.
After hours of emergency surgery, Dr Good's family reported the baby girl is now "doing well".
Police said it was "obvious" the killer focused on women.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that "the gender breakdown is, of course, concerning".
Witnesses told how they heard screaming before seeing the attacker "indiscriminately swiping" at people as he calmly walked along the corridors.
The killer's dad, Andrew, told reporters that his son, who battled with mental illness, had come off anti-psychotic medication shortly before unleashing terror on his victims.
He said: "To you he is a monster. To me, he was a very sick boy."
On Sunday, Andrew and Cauchi's mum Michele described their son's actions as "truly horrific".
In a second horrific event to rock Sydney, a bishop was on Monday stabbed while delivering a sermon at a church in Wakeley.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
At least four people were stabbed just after 7pm at The Good Shepherd Church.
Bishop Emmanuel - who has a huge following on social media - was reportedly stabbed with a pen multiple times before being rushed to hospital.
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