East Jerusalem resident charged with plot to attack hostage families’ protest

A Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem was arrested and indicted after he was found to be planning a terror attack against a protest calling for the return of Israelis and foreigners held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, the Israel Police and Shin Bet announced on Friday.

According to the indictment, filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office, Ibrahim Al Ramadi, a 22-year-old from Sheikh Jarrah, planned to attack civilian demonstrators at one of the weekly Tel Aviv rallies calling on the government to reach a hostage deal.

The rallies, led by families of hostages, have been held weekly since the Hamas terror group launched its October 7, 2023, attack, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza.

Al Ramadi was arrested at his home on September 17, a month before news of the arrest became public.

An image posted to social media by an anti-Israel account days after the suspect’s arrest appeared to match his description.

According to the security forces, the suspect made contact with a Hamas operative for help planning the attack, meant as revenge for Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas.

https://twitter.com/Palestinecapti1/status/1837033856526078457

He also met with a member of the Tulkarem Brigades terror group for help with the attack, Hebrew media reported, citing the indictment.

The suspect also considered carrying out a shooting attack against soldiers, targeting public transportation, or kidnapping Israelis, Hebrew media reported.

He had written a will and opened a group on social media called “Soldiers of God,” for those seeking to carry out terror attacks.

The statement from the police and Shin Bet came just over a week after they announced another foiled plot, in which five Israelis linked to the Islamic State group sought to bring down the iconic Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv.

On Tuesday, a policeman was killed and four people were wounded when a terrorist opened fire along the Route 4 highway north of the coastal city of Ashdod.

And last week, a stabbing attack in the central city of Hadera killed one and wounded five more.

Hamas in recent months has also called for a renewal of suicide bombings, a tactic that killed hundreds of Israelis during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s but has become rare in the decades since, following the construction of a security barrier around the West Bank.