Prosecutors are expected to file an indictment Thursday against Ahmad Abu al‑Rub, the terrorist behind a deadly attack in northern Israel last month that killed two Israelis.
The indictment is also expected to include three counts of attempted murder, following a joint investigation by Israel Police and the Shin Bet security agency.
Previously unreleased footage of the ramming attack and the neutralization of the terrorist
(Video: Israel Police)
The attack took place on December 26, when Abu al-Rub, a 34-year-old resident of Kabatiya in the northern West Bank, ran over and killed 68-year-old Shimshon Mordechai in Beit She’an. He then fatally stabbed 18-year-old Aviv Maor near the Ein Harod area. From there, he drove to Afula, where he struck a 37-year-old pedestrian, moderately to seriously injuring him, before being neutralized by a bystander.
According to the joint investigation by the Northern District Police's central unit and the Shin Bet, the terrorist entered Israel illegally several days before the attack through a breach in the security barrier in the Jerusalem area and had been working in construction for an Israeli man from the town of Arraba in the Galilee.
At around 5:30 a.m. on the morning of the attack, Abu al-Rub left Arraba with his employer and another Palestinian from the West Bank and traveled to Kibbutz Mesilot, where he worked on plastering a private home under construction for a daily wage of 650 shekels to 700 shekels ($210-$225).
At some point, Abu al-Rub decided to steal his employer’s car and carry out a deadly attack. He took a knife and screwdriver from the construction site and left the town of HaSolelim, driving to Beit She’an. There, he ran over and killed Mordechai and also struck a 16-year-old boy, who was lightly injured.
From Beit She’an, the terrorist drove toward Highway 71. At the Tel Yosef Junction, he struck a parked car and then approached two young people nearby while armed with the knife. He managed to reach Maor, stabbed her multiple times and paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Abu al-Rub then continued to the Dorms Junction in Afula, where he spotted a 37-year-old pedestrian, veered off the road and struck him, causing moderate to serious injuries. A civilian who witnessed the incident engaged the attacker and neutralized him. The terrorist was moderately wounded.
Following the investigation, the Northern District Prosecutor’s Office will file charges against Abu al-Rub with the Nazareth District Court. Indictments will also be filed against two of his brothers, who were in Israel illegally, as well as his employer.
“Israel Police is combating all those who assist the entry and presence of illegal infiltrators in Israel and will use every means at its disposal to bring offenders to justice,” the police said in a statement.
Palestinians crossing illegally into Israel
(Video: Israel Police)
Although Abu al-Rub lived in Kabatiya, about 40 kilometers from Kibbutz Mesilot where the killing spree began, he had entered Israel about a week earlier through a breach in the security barrier near Jerusalem—roughly 125 kilometers south of the kibbutz.
Just days before the attack, a ynet crew documented in real time two Palestinians scaling the fence near the Qalandiya checkpoint using a rope, crossing into Jerusalem undisturbed. The following day, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman published a report highlighting failures in preventing unauthorized entry of Palestinians into Israel from the West Bank, warning that the barrier surrounding Jerusalem fails to adequately prevent the entry of unauthorized individuals or potential attackers.
Abu al-Rub is known to authorities as a “repeat infiltrator,” meaning someone who repeatedly enters Israel illegally. He had previously served time in prison for public disorder offenses and, in 2022, served a sentence for illegal entry into Israel.