A Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday sentenced Mustafa Abd al-Nabi to 12 years in prison and Ahmad Natsha to five years after the two East Jerusalem residents admitted to planning a truck bombing near the Knesset.
According to an amended indictment submitted under a plea agreement, the men intended to detonate a truck packed with gas canisters. Prosecutors said both regularly watched Islamic State videos that included religious incitement, beheadings and executions, and that one of them swore allegiance to the group. The court referred to them as terrorists motivated by extremist ideology.
Prosecutors said Abd al-Nabi purchased materials for the explosive device while Natsha worked to obtain additional components and tools. Before their arrest they also tried to recruit accomplices, though the attack never materialized. Both were convicted of preparing to carry out an act of terror, preparing aggravated murder and attempting to use a weapon for terrorist purposes.
The judge said the pair made “significant preparations” for an attack aimed at killing innocent people and acted out of identification with a murderous terrorist ideology. She noted they had reached an advanced stage of operational planning and were directly involved in assembling explosive materials.
“Their plans were thwarted because of their arrest, not because of remorse,” she said, adding that the potential harm was enormous and could have cost many lives. Although the men had no prior convictions and admitted the charges, the judge said neither expressed genuine regret.
Jerusalem District Prosecutor Anat Arusi-Cohen said the case illustrated a severe and concrete plot, not mere talk. She argued that the penalties should reflect the seriousness of what would have occurred had the bombing been carried out. Citing the October 7 massacre, she said harsher sentences were needed to deter future attacks, even when plots are foiled.
Prosecutors sought 17 years for Abd al-Nabi and between five and seven years for Natsha, along with suspended sentences and the forfeiture of seized devices. The defendants claimed they had no real intention to harm anyone and described their actions as “only talk,” but the court rejected that argument. Abd al-Nabi received 12 years in prison and Natsha was sentenced to five.