Prisoner jailed for US bomb threats makes more threats from prison
A year after being arrested for making hundreds of fake bomb threats to US Jewish institutions, Ashkelon teen brought before judge for two more false threats of 'suspicious objects' made to police regarding Kfar Saba, Tel Aviv schools from inside Ramla prison.
Then 19 year old's remand was extended by four days at the Rishon LeZion Magistrates' Court.
Students at Kfar Saba's Yitzhak Sade Elementary School evacuated the education institution following an anonymous report to the police that an explosive device was found in one of the children's backpacks. Security forces were rushed to the scene, but found nothing.
The police suspect the latest bomb threat calls were made from inside the prison by the teen, who is also a dual American national.
He was arrested in March 2017 on suspicion of being responsible for the lion's share of bogus threats made to Jewish institutions over the course of several months, probably numbering in the hundreds.
The arrest was carried out in cooperation with the FBI, with many originally attributing the calls to a surge in anti-Semitism in the US that President Donald Trump's detractors argued had been triggered by his assent to the White House.
The Israeli police's cyber crimes unit also collaborated with its American counterpart to catch the culprit, and both were surprised when the investigation trail led to the conclusion that the threats originated in Israel. Eventually, the teen was found and arrested.
Charges filed in both Israel and the US against the teen last April accused him of extortion and intimidation. An indictment submitted to the Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court at the time stipulated that the teen had made false threats to some 2,000 institutions and organizations.
Among the charges were allegations that the teen had issued fake warnings of bombs being placed in airplanes and of impending terror attacks that were allegedly planned to be committed against American Jewish institutions.
The indictment described, for example, bomb threats made regarding an El Al flight en route to Israel, an incident which kicked French and Swiss fighter jets into action, shadowing the commercial plane ready to intercept it in the event that it showed any signs of being directed to crash on Swiss soil.
In another instance, the defendant called in a threat to a Canadian airport, causing flights to be rerouted to other airports.
A third incident involved a bomb threat to a plane used by the Boston Celtics NBA basketball team as it was taking the players to an away game in Oklahoma City, which led to scans of the planes. Former Celtic player Jae Crowder tweeted after the incident, "I have never been a part of something like this."
The teen also called up New Jersey police to say that he was armed and held three children hostage, and that he planned to shoot both of them and any policemen arriving to the scene.
The defendant's identity was withheld due to the fact tht he was a minor at the time of committing the crimes.
