Scene of Jerusalem terror attack
Scene of Jerusalem terror attackYonatan Sindel/Flash90

A Jerusalem court on Sunday extended by eight days the arrest of the Arab terrorist who carried out a shooting attack near the Western Wall, wounding eight.

The terrorist, Amir Alsidawi, is 25 years old and a resident of one of Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods.

In his interrogation, Alsidawi said that he carried out the attack due to a "personal crisis." Shabak (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police estimate that he did not act with the direction of a terror organization, and carried out the attack of his own initiative.

According to Kan News, Alsidawi did not have a previous history of security crimes, but he had been convicted of serious violent crimes after participating in a quarrel between two families in which one member of the opposing family was killed. Alsidawi was sentenced to prison until August 2023 and submitted a request that the sentence be shortened by one-third.

Police opposed the early release, because they believed Alsidawi to be a dangerous prisoner who carried out severe crimes, and because the quarrel between the two families had not yet been resolved. Despite this, the Release Committee approved Alsidawi's request.

While the security forces were searching for the terrorist for several long hours, Alsidawi turned himself in to the police, arriving at a police station by taxi carrying the gun with which he had fired at the bus. In searches of the area, the security forces located Alsidawi's vehicle, which he had used to arrive at the scene, as well as the address at which he lived.