Indictment: Terrorist charged for planning a suicide attack on a bus

11 March 2010 , 18:57

Hamas terror operative Ali Said is being charged for extensive planning of terror attacks

Tamir Yaniv

A major charge was filed recently at the Samaria Military Court against Ali Said, a Hamas activist who is blind. Said has been serving an active prison term for the past eight years. During the period of this sentence he has tried to implement a number of terror attacks with the help of his wife, who mediated by various means – letters that contained coded messages, as well as the use of mobile devices, and others – between him and the outside world. This serious affair was exposed recently through the arrest of his wife by security forces.

Some time ago, Ali Said was sentenced for ten and a half years of imprisonment, for offenses relating to his involvement in a terrorist organization, planning terrorist attacks, and manufacturing and depositing explosives. The current investigation found that he was responsible for a number of attempts to harm Israeli civilians, following which the new indictment was filed. The Military Prosecution in Samaria indicted Said for planning a suicide attack, in 2001, on a bus full of soldiers in the Shavei Shomron area, and for organizing the transfer of funds for loading a vehicle with explosives.

The money was used for the purchase of four explosives weighing 60 kg each, which were inserted into a vehicle. At the same time a suicide bomber was recruited. The defendant received intelligence information on the bus time-table, and informed the suicide bomber, who entered the explosive laden vehicle hidden before. A look-out, who stayed at a position near the road, called the terrorist and informed him of the approaching bus, but due to a malfunction with the vehicle he was delayed and was only able to start the explosive laden vehicle as a bus carrying schoolchildren drove by. The explosion caused serious damage, but the children were not injured. After the attack, the terrorist organization took responsibility for the bombing in the media.

Said tried several more times to implement terrorist attacks, while under arrest, as stated before. For this purpose, he passed on coded messages hidden in groceries, which were handed to his wife when she came to visit him in prison. Mobile devices were also used similarly.

The responsible judge at the Samaria Military Court, Maj. Dalia Kaufman, ordered the arrest of the accused until the end of the proceedings, and stated: "I found that the current crimes of which the defendant is accused prove themselves the danger of the defendant's intensive and feverish activities for the purpose of initiating the implementation of terror attacks, and even organizing funding for the planned activities."

The stage of the trial during which evidence is disclosed, is expected to begin in April 2010.
source: http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/03/1101.htm