Palestinian Caught in Jaffa Planned Bnei Brak Shul Attack

A Palestinian who was apprehended in Jaffa in September carrying an automatic weapon and explosives, had planned to attack a Bnei Brak shul on the orders of the Lion’s Den terrorist group – according to an indictment against him at the Salem Military Court in the Shomron on Wednesday.

Muhammed Minawi, 20, from Shechem, arrived in Jaffa on September 8 and was apprehended in Jaffa’s Clock Tower Square by the Israeli Police Special Patrol unit who thought he seemed suspicious, after about 15 minutes. He was accused of a series of crimes including attempted murder and arms trading.

According to the indictment, Minawi was motivated to act on the group’s behalf after senior Lion’s Den leader Ibrahim al-Nablusi was killed during clashes with Israeli security forces in August. Minawi’s handler, Tamer Al-Kilani was reportedly killed in a motorcycle explosion last week, which the organization attributes to Israel.

The indictment says that Minawi was initially instructed to attack a shul in Bnei Brak but decided to act on his own initiative. He planned to reach a crowded place in Tel Aviv and shoot “as many Jews and soldiers as possible” and “become a martyr. “Prior to his departure, Minawi filmed himself wearing a white ribbon with the group’ s emblem and proclaiming he was “a Lion’s Den martyr.”