JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two Israeli Arabs were indicted for planning a terror attack on civilian targets in Israel.
Merad Namar and Merad Camal, both 25, had been arrested early last month at the Beersheba Central Bus Station, where they were found with a portable computer memory card that included detailed plans for terror attacks on Israeli civilian targets.
The targets included the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, the Tel Hashomer Medical Center, the tourist hotel area in Tel Aviv and the Malha Mall in Jerusalem, as well as soldiers’ bus stops in Jerusalem and Mevasseret Tzion, according to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces.
An indictment against the men was filed Monday in Jerusalem District Court following the lifting Sunday of a gag order on the case. The men were charged with conspiracy with foreign agents, membership in a terror organization, aiding the enemy and espionage.
Investigations by the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, revealed that Hamas had recruited Namar and Camal in Jordan, where they studied in university, and Dubai, where the suspects had been staying before they returned to Israel, according to the IDF.
The two had met in recent months with Hamas agents in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey, and had been scheduled to receive weapons and explosive devices in order to carry out the attacks.
