Security forces arrested two Beduin-Israeli brothers earlier this month on
suspicion of preparing a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Israel, police
and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced on Sunday.
The
brothers, from the Negev, confessed to the terror plots, holding contacts with
terrorist handlers in Gaza and abroad, preparing explosives and trying to build
rockets, security forces added. Additionally, two Jewish Israelis – one of them
an IDF soldier – are under arrest on suspicion of providing the suspects with
weapons stolen from the IDF in exchange for narcotics.
Some of the
weapons were later used to prepare explosives.
One of the brothers
allegedly took a lead role in the plot, and confessed to planning a suicide bomb
attack in the Beersheba central bus station, running over civilians at a
telecommunications building, and a terror attack on a passenger train.
He
allegedly gathered intelligence on the target areas, and made inquiries into
purchasing a vehicle for running down victims with.
The suspect confessed
to creating pipe bombs based on instructions he downloaded from the internet,
and to carrying out tests of explosives in open areas, police added.
Some
of the bombs were earmarked for attacks on the Israel Police during future
demolitions of illegal Beduin homes in the Negev, the investigation
found.
The suspect also allegedly planned to manufacture rockets and fire
them in Israel, and downloaded information from the net to that end. “He
purchased the required materials,” police said.
The suspected substances
were seized from the suspect’s home during a police raid, as was a
computer.
“The suspect surfed internet sites belonging to global jihadi
elements around the world, and was influenced by their ideology,” police
said.
Allegedly on a website belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, he
volunteered to carry out attacks.
Southern state prosecutors indicted the
two brothers on January 18 at the Beersheba District Court.
“This is a
grave incident, in which Israeli civilians, residents of the Negev, planned
terrorism… against civilians and security forces,” the Shin Bet said.