The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office (Criminal) filed an indictment today (Friday) against the terrorist Islam Perok, a 26-year-old resident of Jerusalem, who carried out the double bomb attack about a month ago in Jerusalem in which the late Aryeh Shechopek and the late Tedsa Tshuma were murdered.
The indictment attributes to the accused the commission of crimes of murder under aggravated circumstances, acts of terrorism of attempted murder, active membership in a terrorist organization and operating with a weapon for terrorist purposes. The prosecution asked the court to order the arrest of the accused until the end of the legal proceedings against him.
The scene of the double attack in Jerusalem. Photo: TPS
According to the indictment submitted through attorney Sagi Ofir and Ilan Akoka, the accused adopted the worldview and activities of the ISIS organization. Between the years 2017-2022, the defendant studied mechanical engineering at an Israeli institution and used his training to realize his intentions to carry out a mass attack in the Jerusalem area and cause the death of Jewish residents, in the spirit of the organization’s doctrine and in view of the hostility he felt towards the State of Israel and its citizens.
The indictment alleges that the accused prepared in a strict manner in order to realize his plan and intentions, learned about the preparation of explosives and detonators, established a laboratory for the production of explosives in the Geevi area of Ramallah, practiced the production and effectiveness of the explosives and located suitable arenas for the realization of his intentions.
It also appears that during the month of last September, the accused decided to realize his plan and put it into practice. For this purpose, he purchased suitable materials and aids in various places and produced them in the laboratory Eight kilograms of explosives.
Also, the defendant purchased a used scooter, painted it with two layers of paint, tried to erase the chassis number in order to disguise it and drove it in an abandoned area in the Mahmes area of the Judean Desert. Also, as part of the preparation of the escape route, The accused slipped a change of clothes Along road number 1 going down to the Dead Sea.
The indictment further details that about a month ago, on the night between 23.11.22-22.11.22, the accused assembled three explosive devices and drove with two devices to Ramot Junction. The defendant’s intention was to plant two charges separately, so that one charge would explode and attract aid and police forces to the scene and after some time the other charge would explode and fatally injure the rescue forces.
Upon arriving at the scene, the defendant noticed a malfunction in the delay system of one charge, so he decided to attach the two charges to one powerful charge, hid them near the back of the bus station and returned to collect the additional charge. The accused moved the last load using the scooter to the fence that stands behind the shuttle station at the Givat Shaul intersection at the entrance to Jerusalem, attached it to the bicycle that was standing on the fence and hurried to leave the place.
After that, the accused drove the scooter on road number 1 towards the Yehuda desert according to the escape route he had prepared. Shortly after, the scooter’s drive chain broke and it was disabled. The accused abandoned the scooter near the side of the road in the Khan Al Ahmar area, took with him the helmet, weapons, charges and clothes and scattered them in the area near the point where he abandoned the scooter.
According to the indictment, at 7:03 a.m. the device for activating the device that had been placed in Givat Shaul prematurely activated the device and it exploded while many passengers were present, including the late Aryeh Shechopek and the late Tedsa Tshuma. A number of other passengers suffered injuries of varying degrees of severity and needed medical treatment, as well as damage to cars passing by.
The indictment further states that the day after the attacks, the accused sent a message using his mobile phone via the “Telegram” application to the “Nasher News” channel affiliated with the organization, in which he took responsibility for carrying out the attacks. As mentioned, the prosecutor’s office asked to arrest him until the end of the proceedings.