Beduin nabbed for planning terror attacks in Israel

Shin Bet arrest two brothers for allegedly planning terror attacks in Israel, holding contacts with handlers in Gaza.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Beduin man in al-Arakib tent 311 (photo credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
Beduin man in al-Arakib tent 311
(photo credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
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.