15-year-old charged with threatening to blow up soldiers: "I know where they are sitting"
The State Attorney's Office filed an indictment against a 15-year-old minor from central Israel who threatened in a WhatsApp group to attack IDF soldiers with explosive devices. Despite warnings, he continued his threats, which the prosecution defines as ideologically motivated terrorism.
What began as a routine discussion in a WhatsApp group dedicated to dog breeding ended in a serious indictment. The State Attorney's Office filed an indictment today (Thursday) in the Juvenile Magistrate's Court against a minor aged about 15 and a half from the center of the country, charging him with the offense of threatening to commit a terrorist act, after he allegedly sent a series of voice messages to group members in which he threatened to harm IDF soldiers using explosive devices.
According to the indictment, filed by Adv. Hila Cohen Kadosh of the Central District Attorney's Office, at the beginning of the month the minor posted a video in the WhatsApp group showing a military vehicle near a cowshed. In the background of the video, he is heard saying: "The army has arrived, may God shame them."
According to the charge, shortly thereafter he sent another voice message in which he escalated his words:
"I feel like planting an explosive device for them, I know where they are sitting. You want to guide me to the right thing or the wrong thing, guide me to the wrong thing better. I will place an explosive device under each one and may God be with them."
One of the group members warned him that these things could lead to a report to the police and his arrest. However, according to the indictment, the warning did not deter him. Shortly thereafter, he recorded another voice message in which he again threatened to carry out an attack:
"I will blow them up with an explosive device, soon. They are going to build their cowshed, their stinking tent, and they need a little time. Wait a little longer, Allah's gifts will be theirs."
Following the messages he distributed, one of the WhatsApp group members reported the matter to the police, who opened an investigation that led to the filing of the indictment.
The prosecution claims that by his actions, the minor threatened to commit a terrorist act out of an ideological motive and with the aim of inciting fear or panic among the public. Along with the indictment, the prosecution requested to maintain the restrictive conditions imposed on him, including a ban on possessing a mobile phone and a ban on using social networks, until the end of the legal proceedings.
