Father, son arrested for planning bombing attacks in Jerusalem

The Shin Bet said the father contacted an unspecified terrorist organization to finance the preparation of the explosives for the attacks.

In a joint operation, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Israel Police’s Jerusalem District Central Unit arrested a father and son from East Jerusalem last month on suspicion of planning to carry out a series of terrorist attacks, according to a statement from both agencies.

The investigation uncovered bomb-making labs used by the suspects to prepare explosive devices. The suspects’ plot was exposed after the father sold explosives to an undercover police agent, known as “Matrix”.

The investigation, conducted over the last several months, revealed that the suspects, who worked at a restaurant and a nursing home in central Israel, planned to plant explosive devices at a checkpoint in northern Jerusalem to detonate against soldiers and police officers. They had acquired various weapons, explosives, and components, and prepared dozens of pipe bombs by watching online videos.

The father had also attempted to secure funding from a terrorist organization for the attacks, but he was arrested before the plan could progress.

The father’s history of violence was also uncovered during the investigation. A few months before the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, he carried out a shooting near the separation fence. He also trained his son to fire various types of weapons on the roof of their home in Kafr Aqab. In the past year, the son had planned a shooting attack at a club in central Israel but did not carry it out.

Additional suspect arrested in bombing plot

During the raid on the suspects’ apartments, forces from the Jerusalem Central Unit, police sappers, Border Police, and the ISA found various chemical materials, containers, detonation mechanisms, and dozens of ready-to-use pipe bombs, which were subsequently destroyed.

In addition to the father and son, a third suspect in his 20s, also from East Jerusalem, was arrested. He is suspected of preparing and hiding explosives with the father and intending to carry out an attack against security forces.

The detentions of all three suspects have been extended by a court, and the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office is expected to file indictments against them in the coming days.