Authorities arrested four Israeli citizens from the Bedouin town of Segev Shalom in the Negev on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks targeting police and other security forces, as well as an attack in Beersheva, the Israel Police said in a joint statement with the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) on Friday.
An indictment against the four was served on Friday morning.
The suspects planned to open fire on the Segev Shalom Police Station, carry out an attack at the Beersheba Central Bus Station and establish a terrorist infrastructure intended to target the security forces operating in Segev Shalom, investigators said.
The investigation was led by the Southern District Israel Police’s Major Crimes Unit during May and June, the statement read.
Officers from the Yamas South unit of the Border Police operated undercover, helping to expose the cell.
After their arrest, the Shin Bet and the Southern District Major Crimes Unit’s counter-terrorism squad found that one of the suspects had posted content on social media that allegedly incited terrorism and expressed support for terrorist activity, according to the statement. The authorities further found that the suspects subsequently conspired to carry out terrorist attacks.
The police said that some of the alleged activities perpetrated by the defendants began while several of them were still minors.
