Itongadol.- The Jerusalem District Court on Monday sentenced three east Jerusalem Arabs for conspiring to carry out shooting and kidnapping attacks against Jews praying on the Temple Mount and security forces posted in east Jerusalem.
Jalal Koutoub was sentenced to 13 years in prison for assisting the enemy in a time of war, conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping, two counts of attempted murder, kidnapping for a murder and other crimes. Muhammed Shaar was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for assisting the enemy in a time of war and attempted robbery, but not for any murder or kidnapping-related crimes.
Ahmad Bazalmit was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for conspiracy to assist the enemy in a time of war and attempted robbery, but not for any murder or kidnapping-related crimes.
It was unclear what the status of the proceedings against the leader of the cell, Nor Hamdan, was, as well as two other defendants, Omar Vuzvuz and Amjad Raazam.
According to the indictment, Hamdan decided in February 2013 to carry out shooting attacks on Jews who came to the Temple Mount to pray and against security forces in east Jerusalem.
To accomplish this, Hamdan allegedly recruited the other defendants and others to form a terror cell.
The terror cell members reside in Ras Al-Amud and Al-Tur, in east Jerusalem, as well as in the capital\’s Old City, said the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).
Hamdan made contact with several terror organizations both in the West Bank and Gaza to receive training, guidance and weaponry, said the indictment.
The terror cell met several times in February and March and intended to help enemy terror organizations in their war with Israel.
Next, the cell planned to kidnap a Jew with a weapon, in order to kill him and also steal his weapon for future terror activities.
The defendants had set out toward Givat Ze\’ev and picked up a Jewish hitchhiker in their vehicle who was looking for a ride to Adam, but when they found that he was unarmed, they allowed him to exit the vehicle.
The Shin Bet identified Hamdan, 24, of Ras al-Amud, as the head of the cell.
Hamdan, who worked at a store in the Old City, confessed during questioning to planning to open fire on Israelis in the Temple Mount, saying he intended "to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque." The Shin Bet added that Hamdan was influenced by videos of past terrorist attacks that he saw on Youtube, particularly the shooting attack on the Merkaz Harav yeshiva in in 2008, in which eight Israelis were murdered.
The defendants "began firearms training with a handgun near Kalandia (in north Jerusalem," and planned to travel to Nablus to meat with a member of the Tanzim paramilitary organization to request firearms and funding, the Shin Bet said.
The defendants also planned to steal weapons from police officers in Al-Tur, and went on to manufacture pipe bombs, the Shin Bet added.
In one incident, the defendants even scouted out what they believed was a police vehicle and started to position themselves to ambush the vehicle, but were caught off guard by police (who did not fully suspect what the defendants were planning) and abandoned the plan, the indictment said.
The Shin Bet said that the cell had come into possession of two handguns, a pipe bomb, and ammunition.