Hamza Mohammed Hassan Matruk
Hamza Mohammed Hassan MatrukIsrael Security Agency (ISA/Shin Bet)

An indictment against terrorist Hamza Matrouk was filed Thursday with the Tel Aviv District Court 

Matrouk, 23, a resident of Tulkarm, is accused of stabbing dozens of people during an attack on Tel Aviv's #40 bus line. 

At the indictment hearing, he proclaimed he had committed the attack "because of Al-Aqsa."

According to the indictment, filed by attorney Ruti Shavit-Oshri, "After Operation Protective Edge last August, the defendant decided to carry out an attack in Israel in order to kill a large number of Israelis, hoping that he would die by the end of the event and become a 'martyr.'"

Matrouk also appealed to his close friends and invited them to participate in the attack, "but they rejected his offer and warned him against making such a move." 

The indictment revealed that Matrouk "participated in Hamas parades and visited mosques in PA-controlled territories in the hopes gaining help and funds for the attack from Hamas" which he considered committing in Jerusalem or at a checkpoint into Israel.

On January 21, Matrouk, armed with a large knife and a screwdriver, met another person in Tulkarm. He, along with several other, drive to the Old Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv - where he boarded a #40 bus and carried out the attack.

"The defendant waited a few minutes for the driver to start moving faster, with the intention of causing damage to additional vehicles on the road," the indictment stated. 

"He got up, took out his knife, approached the bus driver and stabbed him several times in the chest with the intent to kill. The defendant turned around as the bus continued on and began to stab passengers."

When Matrouk exited the bus, he began running toward Yitzhak Sadeh street, attacking passengers he recognized from the bus as well as other bystanders walking on the street. He was eventually arrested "after being shot in the leg by security forces."

Shavit-Oshri, of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's office, emphasized that "the defendant's goal was to attack a bus filled with people...in order to be killed and become a martyr."

Twelve people were wounded in Matrouk's brutal attack, some quite seriously, with 17 receiving treatment from Magen David Adom on the scene.