Two Palestinians on trial in Germany for targeting Israeli embassy
The two ISIS supporters were arrested in June while trying to build a bomb from firecrackers, but claim they were not planning an attack against Israel, and were merely trying 'something cool.'
Two 21-year-old men of Palestinian descent went on trial on Wednesday in Germany on charges of planning a terror attack against the Israeli embassy in Berlin.
According to the indictment, the two planned to attack the embassy or another Israeli target in Germany between December 2014 to July 2015.
The two were identified only as Mohammad and Ali as German law does not allow identifying suspects.
They were arrested in June while trying to create a bomb from firecrackers and police experts said the remains of bomb-making materials were found on their clothes.
A menorah near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (Photo: Alon Goichman)
It was revealed during the trial that Mohammad, a baker, and Ali, are both supporters of the Islamic State, and that Ali, who was allegedly influenced by a Tunisian terrorist, had ISIS-related materials on his cellphone.
At court, the two claimed the Israeli embassy was not their target and that they were merely attempting to do "something cool."
According to a report in Germany, the homemade bomb the two were trying to build was "far from being professional."
An Israeli diplomatic source said in response that "it is best to take every threat seriously, even if in hindsight it turns out it wasn't so grave, particularly at such a sensitive time."
The Israeli embassy in Berlin said in response: "We put our trust in the local authorities in dealing with security and legal matters."
