Jaffa light rail attacker to be charged with murder, terror acts
Second Palestinian terrorist was shot to death at scene of Oct. 1 attack in which 7 were killed; 3 West Bank residents previously indicted for aiding the terrorists
An indictment is set to be filed against one of the two Palestinian men suspected of perpetrating a Hamas terror attack in Jaffa on October 1 that left seven people dead and 16 wounded, Israel Police and the Shin Ben security agency announced on Thursday.
According to the joint statement, the State Attorney’s Office will charge Ahmed Himouni, 25, from Hebron in the West Bank, with acts of terrorism and murder.
During the attack, the two terrorists, one armed with a rifle and the other with a knife, attacked civilians on the Tel Aviv light rail, then got off and continued their rampage on foot along Jerusalem Street in Jaffa.
The second attacker, Mohammad Mesek, 19, also from Hebron, was killed at the scene by a municipal security officer and armed civilians who shot the two terrorists. Himouni was seriously injured.
The owner of a taxi company and two taxi drivers were indicted earlier this month for driving the two into Israel.
The three indicted individuals were accused of driving the terrorists, whom they knew didn’t have entry permits into Israel, to Tel Aviv. Those indictments were on charges of causing death by negligence and causing death by recklessness.
The investigation found that the terrorists had been transported from Hebron to Bethlehem and then to East Jerusalem by a network of Palestinian drivers, according to the Ynet news site, some of whom were charged earlier this month.
Ynet added that the gun used in the rampage was purchased in Hebron with the intention of carrying out attacks in Israel.
According to the earlier indictment, the terrorists had originally planned to carry out their attack at a crowded venue, such as a sports stadium. While passing by the Bloomfield stadium, one of the terrorists asked the driver if there was a game on that evening, ostensibly to see if he could carry out a mass terror attack at the venue. There was no game being played that night.
Before carrying out the attack, the terrorists entered Jaffa’s Al-Nuzha Mosque, stashed their bags in the mosque’s bathroom, and warned worshipers not to leave.
Ynet reported on Thursday that new footage mentioned in the indictment showed the two leaving the mosque, throwing ammunition over the fence, and exiting to the street in search of victims.
In another piece of footage, the terrorists could reportedly be seen running toward the light rail, where they boarded a train and attacked passengers, then getting off and continuing to shoot and stab people on the street in Jaffa.
The seven civilians murdered in the attack were Victor Shimshon Green, 33; Revital Bronstein, 24; Shahar Goldman, 30; Inbar Segev Vigder, 33; Nadia Sokolenco, 40; Ilia Nozadze, 42, a Georgian citizen; and Jonas Chrosis, 26, a Greek citizen.
The attack had come amid heightened tensions as the Israel Defense Forces announced a ground incursion into Lebanon in a bid to push the Hezbollah terror group away from the border, and just minutes before Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
