[Elder of Ziyon] Tel Aviv bus bomb suspect indicted

From YNet:

A day after his 18th birthday, Muhammad Mafarji left a bag containing an explosive device on bus No. 142 which was traveling in Tel Aviv. About 10 minutes after the terrorist got off the bus, as it reached Shaul Hamelech Street, the device was activated.

Twenty-four people were injured in the bombing, which took place on the last day of Operation Pillar of Defense.

Mafarji was indicted Wednesday at the Tel Aviv District Court. The charges include multiple murder attempts, aiding the enemy during wartime, and conspiracy to commit a crime. The most serious charge of aiding the enemy could result in a life sentence.

According to the indictment, in the two months before the attack the culprit lived in his uncle's house in Beit Lakiya while studying at Birzeit University near Ramallah. On the sixth day of the Israeli operation in Gaza, while shopping at a West Bank grocery shop, he expressed his desire to fight alongside Hamas activists in the Strip.

The store owner, Ahmed Mussa, asked him to come back later so he could guide him on how to fulfill his desire.

Some observations:

This makes two attacks done by teenagers against Israelis - for their birthdays.

This terror cell does not seem to be directly associated with any major organizations; four were arrested altogether.

Mafarji is an Israeli who was living in the territories. Does that make him a "settler?" Will any anti-settler groups condemn his terror attack? Will this be listed as another example of "settler violence" by the UN?

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Posted By Elder of Ziyon to Elder of Ziyon at 12/19/2012 07:45:00 AM