World Jewish News

East Jerusalem terror cell charged with planning attack on wedding hall

The Jerusalem District Attorney's Office on Wednesday filed an indictment with the Jerusalem District Court against an alleged terror cell of four east Jerusalem residents for planning to attack the "Nof" wedding hall in Bayit Vagan, Jerusalem.
The cell included Anas Ouisat, Basel Abidat, Ahmed Sarur and Amru Abado of the Jabal Muchbar neighborhood all between the ages of 19-21, said the indictment.
The four are charged with conspiracy to assist an enemy in time of war.
The indictment's details were as follows: Ouisat and Abidat decided in December 2013, based on nationalistic motivations, that they would carry out an attack against Israeli civilians in Jerusalem and in coordination with terror groups.
Ouisat suggested a shooting attack on the Nof hall both because there would be a large number of casualties, between 800-1500 attendees, and because he had previously worked there.
They planned to enter the hall in haredi dress in which they would conceal mini Uzi guns and they got an estimate of NIS 50,000 from a weapons dealer.
At some point, Sarur joined the group, including performing surveillance of the hall to plan the attack.
However, he had a dispute with the original two, eventually dropped out and was eventually replaced by Abado.
The head of the wedding hall, Gilad Pinchas, expressed his immense relief and gratitude in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.
"Nof is a place of celebration," said Pinchas, "the indictment is a gift from God. Nof has top security conditions, and we will continue to consider security a top priority at our hall for all our events and all our guests."
The prosecution has requested to remand all four to police custody until the end of the proceedings.

JPost.com