(TPS) A planned terrorist attack was thwarted last month after an investigation, it was revealed today.
Uday Mobarsham, a resident of the northern village of Makr in Israel, planned to carry out an imminent shooting attack on dozens of Israelis, police officers, and tourists in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Interrogations carried out over the last month by Israeli police and security service Shin Bet, revealed Mobasham bought a gun and carried out training with it.
The firearm was recovered from the possession of his brother, who was arrested alongside others Mobasham planned to recruit to carry out the attack with him.
The two siblings were both indicted.
Mobasham expressed his plans were in protest at Muslim prayers potentially not being allowed to be said on the Temple Mount during the month of Ramadan.
A spokesperson for Shin Bet said: “This is a significant foiling in light of the assessment that if his plan to carry out the attack had been carried out during Ramadan, it could have undermined the peace and led to a dangerous escalation in the Jerusalem area during a period of high security tensions.
“The General Security Service and the Israel Police view with great seriousness any involvement of Israeli citizens in activity that endangers the security of the state and its citizens and will continue to work together with enforcement agencies to bring those involved in this activity to the full extent of the law.”
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, which in Jewish scripture is where the holy temple stood and will one day be rebuilt.
Jews and Christians are currently not permitted to pray at the site. Muslims erected a mosque – known as Al-Aqsa – on top of the ancient site – during the Ottoman Empire.
The site has often been a place of tension and violence. In 2023, the site was used by Arabs to barricade themselves in for days, and throw fireworks at police, as rocket attacks were launched on Israel from Gaza and Lebanon.
In recent years, Palestinian terror attacks have surged during the Islamic month of Ramadan, which began this year on February 27th and will run until March 29th.
