Israeli prosecutors filed charges on Sunday against two eastern Jerusalem residents accused of plotting a series of terror attacks, including one targeting a military base near Jerusalem, the State Attorney’s Office said.
Hassin Ganaim and Abd al-Rahim Hamida, both 21, planned to throw an explosive device at Israel Defense Forces soldiers stationed at the Anatot Camp military base, just outside Jerusalem in the Judean Desert, according to the indictment.
“To advance their plan, the two watched videos demonstrating how to manufacture explosive devices, and one of them even began assembling a bomb,” prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, Ganaim also established contact with a relative living in Cyprus who identified himself as a Hamas operative. The suspect allegedly carried out several intelligence-gathering missions on the relative’s behalf, including photographing locations and providing information about military checkpoints and the Jerusalem hotel where he was employed.
According to the charges, he passed along details about a group of Israeli Air Force cadets who would be staying at the hotel, including the dates and room assignments.
Prosecutors said the Hamas operative asked Ganaim whether he would assist if a suicide bomber were sent to the hotel, and the suspect responded that he was willing to carry out a attack himself but needed additional time to prepare.
Ganaim also took part in violent clashes during a January 2023 operation to demolish the home of Palestinian terrorist Uday Tamimi in Jerusalem’s Shuafat camp. Prosecutors said he and another terrorist threw pipe bombs at security forces from point-blank range.
Ganaim was charged with conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism involving murder under aggravated circumstances, contact with a foreign agent, attempted transmission of information to the enemy, weapons-related offenses for terrorist purposes and an act of terrorism involving aggravated intentional injury, among other charges. Hamida was charged with conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism involving murder under aggravated circumstances.
The prosecution requested that both suspects remain in custody pending the legal proceedings against them.
Last week, the Israel Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced they recently dismantled an eastern Jerusalem terrorist cell under the command of a French-Palestinian operative who was deported to Paris in 2022.
Security forces detained five Jerusalem residents on suspicion that they had been recruited by senior Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) operative Salah Hamouri, the agencies said.
Hamouri “exploited his origins and connections within Israel to recruit local terrorist operatives, alongside his overt activism on the Palestinian issue,” according to the indictment.
