ISIS-linked plot to destroy Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Mall thwarted by Shin Bet, Israel Police
A terror plot to blow up the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv, located in one of Israel's largest central hubs, was thwarted, according to an announcement issued by the Israel Police and Shin Bet domestic intelligence on Thursday morning.
The attack was reportedly planned by five Israeli-Arab residents of Tayibe, who had recently established a terror cell affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The attack was foiled in a joint operation by police officers from the Central Police Unit, as well as undercover Unit 433 “Gideonim” fighters and Shin Bet officers. The undercover investigation had been ongoing for over a month before the arrests were made.
Initially, only two members of the terror cell were arrested, Mahmoud Azzam and Ibrahim Sheik Yousef, who were described as the leaders of the group. Azzam and Yousef recruited three others — Sajed Masarwa, Abdullah Baransi, and Abdel Kareem Baransi — to participate.
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Police said that Azzam and Yousef were in contact with foreign ISIS agents and even planned to travel abroad to meet with ISIS operatives as part of their preparations.
According to the officials' report, the five suspects watched videos of terror attacks in Syria online and discussed the amount of explosives needed to bring down the Azrieli Towers, an iconic part of the Tel Aviv skyline.
The Azrieli Mall was chosen because of its central location, and the amount of daily visitors.
During the interrogation, one of the suspects claimed that he wanted to carry out a major attack "that the whole world would talk about" in order to "hurt the Jews," according to Kan News.
The suspect added he decided to become a terrorist after seeing that "the Jews want to build a synagogue in Al Aqsa Mosque" in the media.
After collecting evidence, the “Gideonim” Unit (a special police operations unit), together with Taybeh police officers, arrested the five suspects, who possessed various weapons. An indictment will be filed against them in the coming days based on evidence from the investigation, the report stated.
Security officials said the plot was discovered and thwarted in its initial stages of preparation.
The group also planned to carry out other terrorist attacks, with the bombing of the Azrieli Mall Towers being the most prominent.
Central Security Officer Yair Hetzroni said, “This is a serious security issue and thanks to an integrated and professional investigation by the police and Shin Bet we prevented a major disaster and saved lives."
"We view with extreme severity any intention of parties with an extreme ideology to promote security activity and therefore, we will continue to act resolutely in accordance with the authority given to us by law and take full force with the existing measures at our disposal, in order to thwart in advance intentions to harm the security of the State of Israel and its citizens.”
This article was originally published by All Israel News.
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