East Jerusalem father and son charged with planning multiple terror attacks

State prosecutors say they have filed charges against a father and son from East Jerusalem accused of planning multiple terror attacks over several years.

Walid and Nidal Shaheen, arrested in late June this year, allegedly sought to murder an Israeli Air Force pilot in his Modiin home, shoot up a nightclub in Rishon Lezion and stage a bombing attack targeting security forces at Jerusalem’s Qalandiya checkpoint.

Nidal, 21, was born to a Jewish mother and converted to Islam, according to Hebrew media. He apparently was convinced to begin plotting terror attacks with his father after he failed to qualify for a combat role in the IDF.

Walid, 43, had previously carried out a shooting at Qalandiya checkpoint, according to prosecutors, in which he fired dozens of bullets at security forces stationed there and then fled the scene, evading arrest.

The two are accused of manufacturing explosives in apartment buildings which they used as bombmaking labs, enlisting the help of their 23-year-old neighbor Yousef Abu Taha, who was also indicted today alongside the pair. The father and son faces charges of weapons offenses, weapons trafficking and conspiracy to commit acts of terror including aggravated murder.

The father is also accused of maintaining contact with a Hamas operative over the Telegram messaging app and aggravated charges over the attempted shooting attack at Qalandiya checkpoint.

According to the indictment, Nidal, who gathered intelligence on the pilot’s home and its surroundings while working as a gardener in Modiin, plotted to attach pipe bombs to his car.

He also planned to shoot up a nightclub in Rishon Lezion, deciding on the location due to the fact that “many Jews congregate there and that he would succeed in murdering many people quickly,” prosecutors write.

Abu Taha is accused of helping Walid prepare explosives, hiding them in his home and planning to stage a shooting attack against security forces who entered Kafr Aqab to carry out arrests.

The joint police-Shin Bet investigation was opened after the father reached out to an undercover cop, nicknamed “Matrix,” with an offer to sell him explosives intended for terror attacks, sparking a “complex and extensive investigation.”

“The scope of the activity, the level of sophistication and the quantity of materials uncovered all attest to an exceptional level of danger posed by those involved,” reads a statement from the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.