Nursing home worker and waiter behind Jerusalem terror bombing plots

Father-son terror cell arrested after elaborate network of explosives labs discovered in Jerusalem.

By World Israel News Staff

Two Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem were arrested recently after Israeli police uncovered a plot to bomb security personnel and an Israeli military pilot, authorities revealed on Sunday.

In a joint statement released Sunday afternoon by the Israel Police and the Shin Bet security agency, authorities said that two men, a father and son from the Arab village of Kafr Aqab – which is partially located within Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries – were arrested a month ago as part of a counterterror investigation.

The two suspects were arrested after the father sold bombs to an undercover police agent, referred to as “Matrix,” who has recently been involved in sting operations against dozens of illegal arms dealers.

According to the statement, the two suspects operated multiple makeshift laboratories for producing explosive material and assembling bombs, using apartment units to manufacture dozens of bombs.

Prior to their arrests, the suspects had been employed at a nursing home and a restaurant in central Israel.

Shlomi Heller of i24NEWS reported that the father is an Arab Israeli with full citizenship and that his son was born to a Jewish mother but converted to Islam after October 7, 2023.

In addition to attempting to sell bombs to an undercover agent, the two suspects planned multiple bombing attacks of their own, including one targeting a person they suspected of being a pilot, along with an attack on soldiers at a checkpoint in northern Jerusalem.

The suspects purchased two firearms and assembled dozens of improvised explosive devices for use in their planned attacks.

The father had maintained contact with a terrorist group, seeking funds to help them move forward with the attacks.

Investigators said that in 2023, prior to the Hamas invasion of Israel, the father approached the security barrier separating Jerusalem from Samaria and fired several shots before fleeing the scene.

Both suspects practiced shooting on the roof of their home and had planned to carry out a shooting attack in central Israel.

Last month, police officers and Shin Bet agents raided multiple apartments operated by the two suspects, seizing explosive materials and dozens of pipe bombs, along with remote detonation mechanisms that would have allowed the terrorists to set off bombs while using their cellular phones.

Police arrested a third suspect in connection with the plot, accusing him of helping the father-son team to assemble bombs and providing them with shelter. The suspect, an east Jerusalem resident in his 20s, is also suspected of attempting to purchase a firearm for a planned attack on security personnel.