Prosecutors allege that a Bar-Ilan University mathematics lecturer prepared attacks that could have killed 600–700 people. His identity is under a publication ban.
An Israeli indictment describes a plan for coordinated attacks on Arab towns and mixed communities, which prosecutors attribute to a mathematics lecturer at Bar-Ilan University. Al Jazeera reported that investigators believe the preparations lasted about three years and that the suspect expected 600–700 people to be killed, with many others driven to leave. These are allegations, not facts established by a court.
Haaretz reported that Israel’s Shin Bet security service declined to lead the investigation and referred the case to police, even though, according to the newspaper, the suspect held a licensed firearm and had taken practical steps toward carrying out the plan. Haaretz also said Shin Bet agents did not attend the search of his home. A court order bars publication of the suspect’s identity.
Bar-Ilan University immediately suspended the lecturer and said it was deeply shocked by the reports. The university said the alleged actions, if proven, would be fundamentally incompatible with its values. The report says the suspect had been briefly questioned by Shin Bet before the case was transferred to police.
Israel Hayom, citing the indictment, described an alleged plan to form 12 groups of six armed people. They were to attack mixed cities and Arab communities simultaneously, using rifles and other weapons. The indictment reportedly included aerial photographs of the area around the northern Bedouin town of Tuba-Zangariyye and a 20-page document of instructions.
According to Haaretz and Israel Hayom, the suspect tried to enlist right-wing politician Moshe Feiglin and other public, academic and security figures, but received no support. The Times of Israel also reported on the alleged plot and Shin Bet’s reported decision not to investigate.