Tira woman gets 6 years in jail for planning terror attack
Wurood Kassem found guilty of conspiracy to aid enemy, contacting foreign agent in connection to foiled attempt to target Spagetim restaurant in central Israel
Kassem, was convicted as part of a plea bargain with the State Prosecutor's Office. She admitted to meeting with an al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades operative in May of 2006, during which time she was recruited to carry our terrorist activity.
She also admitted to agreeing to smuggle weapons from Israel to the West Bank and scouting for locations in which explosive devices could be planted.
Her al-Aqsa Brigades handler, later identified as Muhammad Yaacub, was supposed to give her several cell phones, rigged to explode, to smuggle into Israel and detonate.
At one point, said the case file, she boarded his car – carrying Israeli license plates – unaware that there was a 7-kilogram (15-pound) explosive device hidden in it.
Yaacub then showed her the explosives and asked her to drive them into Israel, but she refused, telling him that all vehicles trying to cross into Israel were thoroughly searched.
Later, she told him her cousin worked at the Spagettim restaurant in Raanana and that he agreed to drive the explosives into Israel.
The defense establishment was eventually able to thwart the attack, thanks to information which came from a social worker Kassem had contacted – allegedly in order to report the planned attack.
The social worker alerted the police, who along with other security forces, arrested all those involved, including Muhammad Yaacub. He was trialed and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
In rendering Kassem's sentence, the judges noted the defendant "understands the gravity of her actions and has expressed remorse.
"Nevertheless, she has crossed the boundaries of morality and has trampled over national security, aligning herself with those who wish to conspire against the State.
"The offenses," continued the court, "are compounded by the daily war which Israel fights with its enemies at large and specifically with terror groups whose sole purpose is to destroy the State of Israel, by carrying out murderous attacks aimed at killing scores of innocent people."
