A gag order was lifted on Sunday surrounding the arrest of a Shuafat resident who stands accused of placing fake bombs in the Jerusalem light rail during Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza.
The suspect, a communications technician by profession, told police the reason he placed the fake bombs was due to the “IDF’s killing of innocent people in Gaza.” A Jerusalem court released the suspect on bail, remanding him to house arrest for ten days.
The first fake bomb was placed on the first erev shabbos of the counterterrorism offensive as the suspect got off a bus near Damascus Gate and then walked to the light rail near Kikar Safra, City Hall, and he placed the ‘bomb’ which was noticed by passengers in the Mt. Herzl area, quite a number of stops later. The train was halted and passengers were forced to get off. Police saw what appeared to be a real pipe bomb and ultimately determined it was a fake.
Three days later, the second fake bomb was placed. This time it was discovered by train security personnel. A bomb demolition robot dealt with that device, eventually blowing it up in a controlled blast.
In the hearing in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court the attorney for the suspect explained that “we are dealing with a can with wires protruding, nothing more”, telling the court his client has psychological issues as he tried to play down the seriousness of his actions.
In another light rail related matter, the daily HaMevaser reports two Arab youths were taken into custody for firebomb attacks against the train last week, during Operation Pillar of Defense. Baruch Hashem the incendiary devices did not ignite. There were no injuries.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
Placing a fake bomb to protect policies is basically an act of non-violent civil disobedience (with a touch of creating a public nuisance). More on the lines of sitting down in the middle of a busy street, or tossing diapers – rather than terrorism. Prosecuting someone for such an offense, other than as a minor public nuisance charge, accomplishes nothing.
Indeed, the Israelis should probably be encouraging people to engage in non-violent acts of protects – much better than the alternative.
Hey akuperma, you are totally out of your mind.
Placing fake bombs of any sort in a tense and highly volatile area in the middle of a war is a major offense.
What would you say if one of the people on the light rail had a heart attack and died? Would you say the person would have died anyway or lock the nut job up?
This should be considered a major crime.