Two Arab youths charged with plan to stab Jew
Defendants, arrested in possession of knives, allegedly backed out of attack after seeing intended victim’s family
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Two 16-year-old Israeli Arab boys were indicted Tuesday over alleged plans to carry out a terrorist attack against a religious Jewish man.
The two, residents of a village near Nazareth, were arrested two weeks ago at a gas station in Migdal Haemek after arousing the suspicion of a station worker, who called the police. A search found them to be in the possession of two knives.
When questioned, the youths said that in Migdal Haemek they spotted a Jewish man with a kippah and planned to attack him. But after seeing the man’s family arrive at the scene, they decided not to go forward with the attack, they said.
The two had been deeply influenced by the recent violence and by incitement related to Israel’s alleged actions on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the indictment said.
When questioned, the youths said that before traveling to Migdal Haemek they spoke about the situation in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, atop the Mount, and claimed that “Arabs cannot go to the mosque.” They claimed to have been inspired by the recent stabbing attacks in Jerusalem.
According to a Channel 2 report, family members of the defendants, who came to the deliberations at the Nazareth Magistrate Court, claimed that the youths were innocent and had no history of security offenses. They said that the youths had no intentions of hurting Jews, and that the tense situation in the country caused the police to label the event a terror-related incident.
The indictment, filed to the the Nazareth Youth Court, charged the two youths with attempted murder, possession of knives and conspiracy to commit a crime.
The Times of Israel Community.