An indictment will be presented Wednesday against a suspect in the November bus
bombing in Tel Aviv that wounded 28 Israelis, the suspect’s attorney and Tel
Aviv police said Wednesday.
The suspect, a resident of Taiba originally
from Beit Lakia near Ramallah, was brought for a remand extension at the Tel
Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Sunday, where his remand was extended until
Wednesday. A prosecutor’s declaration supporting the extension was also
submitted.
Relatives of the suspect attended the hearing on Sunday,
including his mother, who began crying and praying after he was led into the
courthouse by Prisons Service officers.
The man appeared to be quite
young, and smiled at his family before observers and the press were led out and
the closed-door hearing began.
Minutes later the hearing was over and the
suspect’s attorney, Ihab Galgoly, said that while he hasn’t been able to review
the evidence against his client, he is certain that an indictment will be issued
on Wednesday morning.
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and police
said that several hours after the bombing on November 21, they managed to arrest
the members of the Beit Lakia-based cell. The suspect brought before the court
on Sunday is originally from the village as well but was able to move within the
Green Line after marrying an Israeli Arab, the Shin Bet said. He is suspected of
being the one who placed the bomb on the bus, before notifying the head of the
cell who then detonated it by phone, according to the Shin Bet.
The Shin
Bet has said that the cell’s members identified with Hamas and Islamic Jihad,
and decided to carry out the bombing as a response to the IDF’s Operation Pillar
of Defense.