Abdullah Gargawi of Segev Shalom described in his interrogation how he planned the attack at the club in Be'er Sheva after intending to join Islamic State in Syria. He searched YouTube for instructions on making explosives, practiced shooting in an open area and carried out controlled explosions in a yard: “There was a spark and smoke.” His brother confirmed to police that he had tried to make the explosive himself
“I wanted to blow up the people dancing there — Jews or Arabs,” Abdullah Gargawi of Segev Shalom said in his interrogation. He was indicted Tuesday on charges related to Islamic State and planning an attack at the Forum club in Be'er Sheva. He was arrested July 19 by police and the Shin Bet, and his brother Ahmad confirmed that he had tried to make explosives.
Documentation of his arrest last month
(Footage: Police Spokesperson)
Details revealed from his interrogation by the Southern District police’s central unit indicate that he planned to blow up the well-known club in the city’s Park neighborhood while it was packed with revelers and then carry out a shooting attack. “I thought about Be'er Sheva, but I didn’t think about the place where I would shoot,” he said.
According to the indictment, Gargawi kept an M-16-style firearm, magazines and ammunition for a relative for several months. He also took the weapon to an open area near Ramat Hovav and fired it. During 2025, he kept numerous weapons for another person, including MAG machine guns, Kalashnikovs and Negev machine guns.
Abdullah Gargawi and the weapon
(Photo: Police Spokesperson)
He also said in his interrogation: “About a month before Ramadan 2026, I searched YouTube for how to make explosives. A video came up showing how to make an explosive charge. The video said I needed agricultural lime, sulfur and charcoal. I found lime in a storage room because I have an uncle who works in Jenin. I took a cup of lime from the sack and removed 75 grams from it. I took charcoal from home, regular charcoal, and they refused to sell me sulfur. I went to Dhahiriya [in the Hebron area] and couldn’t find any. I returned home and decided to take sulfur from matches. I tried to light them in my grandfather’s concrete yard. There was a spark and smoke.”
The indictment was filed Tuesday at the Be'er Sheva District Court. It charges him with contacting a foreign agent, preparing to carry out a terror attack, weapons offenses and other crimes.
According to the indictment, Gargawi began consuming Islamic State-related content on social media in 2022 and later began supporting and identifying with the organization. As part of this activity, he established contact with the group’s supporters, spoke with them about Islamic State and was exposed through them to additional material produced by the organization.
At the same time, according to the indictment, Gargawi decided to carry out an attack in Be'er Sheva using explosive devices. About six months ago, he began planning to bring a booby-trapped vehicle into the area of the Forum Club and remotely detonate the explosives when the club was crowded with revelers.
As part of his preparations, Gargawi searched online and downloaded instructions from YouTube on how to make explosives. After his arrest, police and the Shin Bet also seized his cellphone, which contained records of his contacts with Islamic State operatives and supporters, as well as footage of him with the weapon he had possessed and used before his arrest.