Court: Indictment set for suspect in TA bus bombing

Sources say indictment to be presented against man believed to have planted bomb in November attack that wounded 28 Israelis.

By BEN HARTMEN
TA bus bomb 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS)
TA bus bomb 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS)
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.
TA bus bombing suspect
TA bus bombing suspect
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.