Attack Planned on “Mamila” Mall in Jerusalem Prevented – Jerusalem Online – Sep 01, 2013 – Ariel Ben-Moshe
Jerusalem District Attorney filed an indictment against two residents of East Jerusalem, who planned to carry out a bombing in the Mamila shopping center during one of the upcoming holidays. The two suspects, along with a third partner from Ramallah were arrested shortly before completing preparations for the attack.
The General security service, in cooperation with the IDF and the Israel Police arrested members of Hamas’s military infrastructure in Ramallah and Jerusalem, who were in the advanced stages of planning a bomb attack on the capital during the Holidays. This morning (Sunday), the Jerusalem District Attorney’s office filed serious charges against the two residents of East Jerusalem- Ahmed Rishek and Ismail Abu-mefalfel, the first charge was aiding the enemy in the war, and the second was attempting to create weapons. …
According to the indictment, Rishek’s cousins decided to make a bomb, and put it in a crowded area of Jerusalem in order to “Kill a large number of Jews”. He asked the defendant to bring the materials into Israel, and he agreed.
Earlier in July, the two met at Rishek’s house. Rishek’s cousin said that the package could be delivered to Jerusalem, and thought the bomb should be placed at the heavily populated shopping center “Mamila” in Jerusalem. They also decided to recruit the other defendant- Ismail, a worker at the mall. They planned to throw the “package” into the garbage at the Mall, causing a deadly explosion.
During the recruitment meeting for Ismail, Rishek told him of the plan and asked him to collect iron “marbles” for the bomb. Ismail brought over 40 “marbles”, which could have caused death and serious injuries to many passerby.
Shortly after this, a meeting was held in Ramallah with the initiator of the attack. It was decided to wrap the bomb in a gift box, inside a basket of chocolates. The plan was to throw the gift box in the trash during one of the upcoming Jewish Holidays, because they knew how busy the mall gets during that period.
Following the investigation and arrest of the three men involved in the planning of the attack, a terror lab in Ramallah was found. In the lab, forces found chemicals used to make explosives, as well as instructions on different ways and materials to make different explosives. In the process of interrogation the three defendants told of their plan, and revealed other suicide ideas, which centered on hurting IDF Soldiers.
Jerusalem Online – foto: Mamila, het populaire winkelcentrum in Jeruzalem [Channel 2 News]