Al-Qaeda terrorist arrested for planning to kill Netanyahu

Teenage operative from Jaffa arrested after he allegedly spied on behalf of the terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks in the US.

By World Israel News Staff

A teenage boy from the Tel Aviv metropolitan area has been charged with spying for the radical Islamist terror group Al Qaeda after he allegedly established contact with members of the extremist Sunni group.

On Sunday, prosecutors filed an indictment against the 14-year-old suspect, an Arab Israeli resident of Jaffa, in the Tel Aviv District Youth Court.

Investigators say the teenage terrorist reached out to terrorists affiliated with Al Qaeda, and provided information to operatives linked with the organization.

According to the indictment, the teenage suspect presented himself online as a “Muslim spy” living in a city in the greater Tel Aviv area.

At one point, the suspect joined a messaging group on the Signal app called “Cyber and Armed Jihad Movement.” The group was reportedly run by an Al Qaeda operative and aimed to act as a “cyber-jihad movement whose members pledged to fight under the banner of Al Qaeda,” prosecutors wrote.

Two months ago, the group’s handler asked members to gather intelligence for an operation planned by the organization.

The teenage suspect allegedly agreed, photographing two former military facilities, providing their exact coordinates, and recording video footage intended for use in a propaganda film.

The indictment further claims that, in messages sent to the group, the suspect wrote that he planned to film a large police station in Tel Aviv and carry out terrorist attacks, including the assassination of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a suicide bombing, and assaults on Israeli civilians using a knife or Molotov cocktail.

The Al Qaeda operative reportedly encouraged the boy to carry out the attacks and instructed him to film himself beforehand, declaring that he was acting on behalf of Al Qaeda.

Prosecutors say the 14-year-old also sought to join Hamas, expressed interest in making improvised explosives, and explored additional actions targeting Israel’s security.