Security forces thwarted an alleged Islamic State-inspired bombing plot targeting one of Be'er Sheva’s best-known nightclubs, authorities said Tuesday, after prosecutors charged a man from the Bedouin town of Segev Shalom with planning to detonate a car bomb near the Forum club while it was crowded with patrons.
The suspect, Abdullah Gargawi, was arrested July 19 in Segev Shalom in a joint operation by Israel Police and the Shin Bet security agency, according to details cleared for publication Tuesday. Prosecutors allege that he established contacts with Islamic State operatives and supporters, planned to join the terrorist organization in Syria and separately prepared to carry out an attack in Be'er Sheva.
Security forces arrest Abdullah Gargawi
(Video: Israel Police)
According to the indictment, Gargawi began consuming Islamic State-related material on social media in 2022 and gradually came to support and identify with the organization. He later made contact with Islamic State supporters, discussed the group with them and obtained additional extremist material through those contacts.
In the months before his arrest, prosecutors said, Gargawi joined a small group on the encrypted messaging app Signal whose members discussed jihad and developments in Israel. When he learned that the group was about to be shut down, he urged its members to take action. He was allegedly told to be patient and that they would contact him when he was needed.
After the group was closed, Gargawi deleted Signal from his phone in an effort to avoid leaving evidence behind, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said Gargawi also contacted an Islamic State supporter in Syria and asked for information about traveling there to join the organization’s fighting. During those conversations, he allegedly received information about possible routes to Syria through Jordan or Turkey.
He later established direct contact with an Islamic State operative who suggested that he travel to Yemen or Afghanistan to join the group, prosecutors said. Gargawi allegedly intended to leave Israel for Syria and join Islamic State, but abandoned preparations after police came to his home looking for him, prompting fears that he was about to be arrested.
Alleged plan to bomb Be'er Sheva nightclub
Meanwhile, according to prosecutors, Gargawi decided to carry out a bombing in Be'er Sheva.
About six months before his arrest, he allegedly began planning to drive a vehicle packed with explosives into the area near the Forum nightclub and remotely detonate the explosives when revelers were present.
The Forum club in Be'er Sheva
(Photo: Haim Horenstein)
As part of his preparations, Gargawi searched online for information about explosives and downloaded instructions from YouTube for making explosive material, the indictment said.
He then allegedly attempted to obtain sulfur. When he was unable to purchase it and became concerned that trying to do so could arouse suspicion, prosecutors said, he attempted to extract sulfur from matches and use it to prepare a mixture according to instructions he had found online.
Gargawi also conducted a test near his home in which he attempted to ignite the mixture, but the experiment failed, according to the indictment.
Weapons and ammunition charges
The indictment also accuses Gargawi of illegally possessing firearms and ammunition.
For several months, prosecutors said, he kept an M-16-style rifle, magazines and ammunition for a relative. He allegedly took the firearm to an open area near Ramat Hovav and fired it.
During 2025, according to the indictment, Gargawi also stored numerous firearms for another person, including MAG and Negev machine guns and AK-47 rifles.
Prosecutors asked the court to keep Gargawi in custody until the conclusion of legal proceedings.
In the detention request, prosecutors said Gargawi was accused of committing a range of serious offenses, including possessing weapons while preparing an attack against civilians. They said he continued his alleged activities and planning despite repeated warnings by security authorities to him and people close to him.
Gargawi faces charges including contact with a foreign agent, providing services or resources to a terrorist organization, preparing to commit an act of terrorism, training or instruction for terrorist purposes and firearms offenses involving possession, carrying and trafficking.
Israel Police and the Shin Bet said they viewed “any involvement by Israeli citizens in terrorist activity” with great severity and would continue working to thwart planned attacks and prosecute those seeking to harm Israeli citizens and residents.