2 Jerusalemites accused of planning to kill city mayor
Two east Jerusalem residents were asked to transport suicide bomber, locate targets for terrorist attacks; Teens planned to assassinate senior Israeli figures including Jerusalem mayor
Mamoun and Atallah Abu Tir, both 19-years-old, stand accused of trying to create their own terrorist cell.
Their efforts started when one of the pair began a correspondence via the Internet with an Islamic Jihad member from Algeria who called himself "Shahid Alsaria." The two communicated for a month and-a-half and Shahid promised to put the east Jerusalem youths in contact with Islamic Jihad members from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
During the correspondence, Shahid sent the teen instructions for preparing explosives.
Around the middle of September, Shahid told Mamoun that an Islamic Jihad member from Gaza would contact him. Soon afterwards, a man by the name of "Abu Haritha" made contact with Mamoun through the web. During the correspondence between Mamoun and Abu Haritha, Mamoun apparently suggested that he assassinate leading Israeli figures.
In order to carry out this task, Abu Haritha asked Mamoun if he could transport a suicide bomber from Hebron to Beersheba in order to carry out an attack in the city. Mamoun agreed to do so and he asked his friend Atallah Abu Tir if he would be willing to be the driver. Atallah agreed without knowing what the mission would entail.
Later, Abu Haritha changed plans and said that he would send a suicide bomber to a part of the separation barrier near the outskirts of Jerusalem and instructed Mamoun to help bring the terrorist into the holy city.
Mamoun and Atallah agreed to do so and decided to seek out possible targets in Jerusalem.
A week later, Abu Haritha told Mamoun that he needed him to pick up an explosives belt from Jenin. Hours afterwards, Mamoun was arrested.
