Police and Shin Bet officers arrested three Jerusalem-based Arab terrorist cells in April and May. The arrests were kept under wraps for security reasons, and were released for publication on Monday.
One cell, nabbed on May 30, was responsible for a shooting attack that wounded a man. The three-member cell fired on a security vehicle on March 1, 2010, in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mei Shiloach (Silwan). A passenger in the car, a resident of Beit Yehonatan, was hurt.
Cell members were identified as Issa Daud Abassi, Kayd Naim Fatfata, and Mussa Naim Fatfata, all residents of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukhaber in their mid-20s. The three admitted to the charges against them, and told police that Issa and Kayd had shot at the vehicle while Mussa stood watch. The two shooters handed over the guns used in the attack.
The second cell was responsible for attacking a security jeep on May 2, also in Mei Shiloach. Cell members ambushed the vehicle, pouring oil on the road, setting up a stone barrier, and then lying in wait with Molotov cocktails. One security guard was wounded in the subsequent attack, and the jeep was heavily damaged.
Seven Jerusalem Arab men ages 18-26 were arrested in connection with this attack. Six of the attackers were residents of Mei Shiloach, while the seventh is a resident of Jabel Mukhaber. Several minor residents of Mei Shiloach were detained in connection with this attack as well.
The third cell was responsible for a shooting attack in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras el-Amud. The March 16 attack wounded a policeman. Aezi Kanan of Mei Shiloach, Aheb Ashour of Ras el-Amud, and Mahmoud Bader of Abu Dis were arrested on suspicion of taking part in the attack. The men, all of them in their 30s, were detained in early April.
Ashour was identified as a member of Fatah. Kanan admitted to perpetrating the shooting attack, while Ashour and Bader are accused of assisting him in hiding the gun he had used. The suspects turned the weapon over to the police.