ISIS-inspired Arab-Israeli cell planned massive car bombing at Tel Aviv mall
The cell, apparently radicalized by watching jihadist videos online, aspired to cause a mass casualty event by producing a blast strong enough to raze the Azrieli towers
Israeli security forces announced on Thursday they foiled a terror plot targeting the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv involving five Arab-Israelis linked to the Islamic State group. According to a joint statement by the Shin Bet and police, the suspects are residents of Tayibe, an Arab-majority city in central Israel.
An indictment will be brought against them shortly the findings of a preliminary investigation. The security forces conducted a month-long undercover investigation around the terror cell and at the end of it the five were arrested.
In the course of the investigation it emerged that the suspects consumed Islamic State content online, including videos of terrorist attacks in Syria; they were ascertaining the required amount of explosive to blow the Azrieli towers to the ground, causing a mass casualty event.