Arson attacks in Ramla (Photo: Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
A Palestinian who used his humanitarian stay permit to carry out arson attacks in central Israel was arrested in a joint operation carried out by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police.
By Tobias Siegal, World Israel News
A 29-year-old Palestinian who has been staying in Israel illegally for nearly two years was indicted on Monday on charges of carrying out several arson attacks in central Israel.
Saliman Qassab, originally from the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, entered Israel in January 2020 after receiving a humanitarian entry permit for accompanying his ill mother who was treated in an Israeli hospital.
Saliman Qassab (Photo: Shin Bet)
Following his mother’s recovery, Qassab used his permit to remain in Israel illegally, according to a joint investigation carried out by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Israel Police.
During his interrogation, Qassab confessed to setting fire to several sukkahs in the city of Ramla following the Jewish holiday of Sukkot in late September. In a different incident, on October 4, he ignited a bus.
The investigation also found that Qassab had been in contact with the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a coalition of Palestinian terrorist groups operating in Judea and Samaria.
According to the Shin Bet, the organization was planning on using Qassab for carrying out serious attacks in Israel. However, Qassab had not yet received any funds or weapons from the organization upon his arrest.
This is the latest in a series of arrests carried out against Palestinians from Gaza who had applied for special humanitarian stay permits in Israel and were later recruited by terrorist organizations, according to a statement issued by the Shin Bet.
Additionally, pyro-terrorism has become increasingly popular among Palestinian terrorists in recent years. Being relatively cheap and easy to handle, while causing maximum damage and disrupting the daily lives of the civilian population, has made it a preferred form of terrorism among Palestinian terrorist factions. Incendiary balloons launched from the Gaza Strip have caused enormous financial damage to Israeli farmers in southern Israel.
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