26-year-old is IS supporter: Arabs in custody after attacks in Jerusalem

After the double attack in Jerusalem in November that killed two, the security authorities arrested a suspect.

26-year-old is IS supporter: Arabs in custody after attacks in Jerusalem

After the double attack in Jerusalem in November that killed two, the security authorities arrested a suspect. The domestic intelligence service Shin Beth says the 26-year-old Arab is a supporter of the Islamic State.

A 26-year-old Israeli Arab is said to have carried out bomb attacks at two bus stops in Jerusalem a month ago, according to the domestic intelligence service. After a blackout was lifted, the Shin Bet secret service announced that the mechanical engineer had already been arrested on November 29. He is a supporter of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS).

At the end of November, a 15-year-old Israeli-Canadian youth and a 50-year-old Israeli were killed and 13 others injured in bomb explosions at two bus stops in Jerusalem. These were the first bombings in Jerusalem since 2016.

The interrogation revealed that the man acted alone and had prepared the deeds for a long time, the Shin Bet said in a statement. He built the explosive devices in the West Bank and also tested explosions there in a pit. There he also hid materials for the construction of further explosive devices. A rifle and a ready-to-use explosive device were also found on the suspect. He planned more attacks. A court extended his detention on Tuesday and indictments are expected in the coming days.

At least 27 people have been killed in attacks in Israel, East Jerusalem and the West Bank so far this year, including several soldiers and security forces. Since the beginning of a wave of terror in the spring, Israel's army has been carrying out increased raids in the occupied West Bank.

According to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, 170 Palestinians were killed this year in connection with military operations, in clashes or in their own attacks. 49 other Palestinians were killed in August in three days of fighting between Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli army. According to the UN, 2022 was the deadliest year since the Palestinian uprising from 2002 to 2005, the so-called second Intifada.