Jerusalem Police and the Shin Bet security service claimed a
big success in foiling a frightening plot to attack the Har
Habayis with a Lau rocket, but other observers said that they
just caught a few youths with wild imaginations.
Five Israeli Jews were arrested and released in recent weeks
on suspicion of planning an attack on the mosques on Har
Bayis, with the intention of disrupting the disengagement
plan. They were interrogated and freed with limitations, but
will not face charges on the grounds that they had been
unable to implement their plan and had already decided not to
carry it out.
In a separate incident, a 61-year-old man from Ra'anana was
detained because of an alleged plan to fly a model aircraft
fitted with a camera over the Mount and over Arab population
areas as a provocation. He was released a few hours later,
and no charges were filed against him either. He
categorically rejected the accusations of provocative
intentions. "All I wanted to do was to take pictures of the
building going on at the Temple Mount," he said.
According to the Shin Bet, a 21-year-old suspect from
Jerusalem approached a 23-year-old from Rechovot to help him
to secure the weapons to carry out an attack on the Temple
Mount. They were planning to approach the criminal underworld
to obtain the weapons. The brother of one was asked to join
and at first he went along, but he later changed his mind and
refused to cooperate. Physically, they had nothing in hand
that could be used in an attack.
One told police during questioning that his goal was "to
create a third intifadah and a war with the Arab countries
that would stop disengagement and lead to the transfer of the
Arabs." The five suspects were said to have toured the area
to find a convenient place from which to fire the missile,
and they finally decided on the roof of a yeshiva. They said
that their plan was to throw hand grenades at security forces
who arrived at the scene after the initial attack, and then
to shoot themselves. Two of the men were said by police to be
"emotionally unstable."
When they saw that they did not even have the necessary
funds, nor did they have the know-how to carry out the
attacks, they approached a resident of Beitar Illit, who
suggested they take a loan from the bank for the weapons, and
promised to find army veterans who would show them how to
shoot. The two do not have army training.
In response to the reports, right-wing MKs said that it was
all just an attempt to paint the anti-disengagement community
in a bad light. The chairman of the National Union Knesset
faction accused the Shin Bet of planting an agent
provocateur, who suggested the attack and offered the young
men the weapons.
A court gag order on the case was lifted Monday afternoon.
All of the suspects have been released from custody, with the
State Attorney's Office deciding not to press charges against
any of the suspects. "Beyond planning, it has not been proven
that those involved in the case had enough time to carry out
any crime, and it appears that the suspects changed their
minds even before their arrests," a Justice Ministry
statement on the case read.
Over the last year, Israeli security officials have
repeatedly warned of the possibility that Jewish extremists
could try to attack the Har Habayis.
Former Shin Bet head Avi Dichter has said that, coupled with
the possibility of an assassination attempt on Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon, the threat of an attack by Jewish extremists on
the Temple Mount is of the highest concern among security
officials, as Israel prepares to withdraw from Gaza.
Naftali Wurtzberger, the attorney for the three prime
suspects, said Monday that the whole affair was a Shin Bet
provocation. "There is no case here," Wurtzberger said.
He noted that his clients had no army training. They also had
all been released from custody, and if any of the allegations
against the suspects were true they would be facing a severe
charge sheet.
Those who said that the police case was weak noted that a
scheduled press conference on the case was canceled at the
last minute Monday afternoon without any explanation.
In response to the increasing threats to the site, the
Internal Security Ministry has decided to set up a state-of-
the-art security system of electronic sensors on the Temple
Mount at a cost of about NIS 100 million.
The new head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Yuval
Diskin, warned that the threat against Israeli air travelers
and airlines abroad by world Jihad cells is intensifying. He
said world jihad is trying to get into Israeli territory, but
thus far, Israeli intelligence has blocked them.
Diskin also expressed deep concern over Jewish terrorism,
especially threatening the Temple Mount, which aims at
sabotaging the disengagement plan.
Diskin responded to criticism that the Shin Bet was provoking
extremists over the Temple Mount issue: "The Shin Bet will
have no sense of humor towards anything related to the Temple
Mount," he was quoted as saying.
