JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Palestinian resident of eastern Jerusalem was charged with planning terror attacks in the Jerusalem area.
Muhammad Fuaz Ibrahim Julani, 22, of the Shuafat refugee camp, was indicted Tuesday in Jerusalem District Court.
He planned to carry out the attacks on behalf of the terrorist Hamas group, the Shin Bet security service said Tuesday. Among the planned attacks was a suicide bus bombing in the Pisgat Zeev neighborhood of Jerusalem, which had been scheduled for mid-September after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice.
The Shin Bet arrested Julani last month, days before that planned attack. He reportedly contacted Gaza residents affiliated with Hamas via Facebook and, using money provided by his handlers, obtained the raw materials to build an explosive device.
Julani reportedly also told the Shin Bet that he had planned a stabbing attack in Pisgat Zeev earlier this year, but did not follow through out of concern that Israeli security forces would demolish his parents’ home.
He reportedly filmed a final message to be distributed after the attack.
Two members of his family also were arrested for helping him hide the bomb-making materials.
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