Sarona Market attack
Sarona Market attackFlash 90

Transcripts from the interrogation of the two terrorists who perpetrated the Sarona market attack in Tel Aviv have been released, revealing the motivations of the two murderers and their radical Islamic ideology. The new information comes a month after the attack, in which four people were murdered when the terrorists opened fire with improvised rifles.

In the interrogation records, first published by Channel 10, the terrorists give a chilling blow-by-blow account of their preparations and the attack itself, and discuss their motives for committing such a heinous act.

The terrorists, referred to in the reports as simply "Khaled" and "Mohammed", began by recounting how they bought expensive suits so that they would look like respectable businessmen. "We left our house in the morning to get haircuts and prepare ourselves."

They then explained how they had prepared for transportation into Tel Aviv from their hometown of Yatta near Hevron. "The day before we spoke with a cab driver who transports people without work permits illegally. We went with him until Segev Shalom (a Bedouin town near Be'er Sheva) and there we showered and changed clothes in someone's house. We then traveled to the central station in Be'er Sheva and saw that there was an entrance with a metal detector, but they didn't suspect us because we were wearing suits so we were able to go in."

Describing the plans for the attack during the interrogation, one of the terrorists explained that they had originally wanted to target a train. "Trains are good targets because the moment they start moving there's no security on them and people can't get out. But we saw that we wouldn't be able to get in because of the heavy security around the train station, so we started walking the streets looking for a place where there would be a lot of people. We asked a Jewish guy where there are cafes and restaurants and he directed us."

The other terrorist explained the next step. "We saw a cafe selling ice cream and drinks and we decided to go in. We sat in chairs opposite one another, and both put the bag with our weapons on the floor near our legs. Several minutes later a waitress came and started speaking to us in Hebrew. We told her we only speak Arabic and she started speaking Arabic with us, even though she was Jewish. When she left I told Khaled not to hurt her because she spoke Arabic."

Five minutes after that, they opened fire. "I shot the man on my right," Mohammed explained, "he wasn't breathing and I don't know where I hit him. I then shot five bullets or so into a woman, after which I dropped my weapon. I picked it up to try to shoot again but it jammed so I threw it at somebody. Khaled was just shooting indiscriminately."

After Khaled was caught, Mohammed managed to get away from security personnel. He described what happened next. "I was running, and I saw a man and three women running away towards a building. I joined them and someone opened the door and let us in. So I, the man, and the three women sat on a wooden bench in the house. The man left the house, came back quickly, pointed at me, tackled me to the ground and put a gun to my head. The women called the police."

Both terrorists admitted they had declared allegiance to ISIS and continued pledging their support for the group throughout the interrogation. They said that they had even tried to establish contact with ISIS operatives in Syria and Iraq. When asked about their motives, one of the terrorists said that he did it to avenge "the degradation of Muslim's honor."

"In 2011 I admired Osama Bin Laden, and then in 2013 I started supporting ISIS," he said.

Later he was asked if he supports the killing of Jews. "Anyone who is against Islam is against me, and everyone who occupies my land is against me. I started by admiring Sheikh Bin Laden and (current Al Qaeda leader) Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, so I started reading about their agenda online. Later on, when Bin Laden died, I started learning about ISIS. When I finished University in Jordan I thought about going to Syria to help them build rockets, but it didn't work out."

When asked why he perpetrated the attack specifically in Tel Aviv at that specific time, Khaled said: For religious motives. God preferred the Jews over the other nations and the Jews believed in (golden) calves. They are Kuffar (infidels), and you're allowed to kill Kuffar. I also did it for nationalistic reasons because the Jews are occupying Muslim lands in the Al Aqsa area and it should be (part of) greater Syria.

"I think Islam should control Syria and the world in general so I did my part for God and my religion. I wanted to die a martyr's death, the highest form of death."