JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israel’s State Attorney’s Office on Thursday filed an indictment against a 22-year-old resident of Jerusalem’s Beit Hanina neighborhood, accusing him of preparing terrorist acts involving explosives and lethal poisons and of receiving terrorist training.

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According to the indictment filed in Jerusalem District Court, Mohammad Shalabi, a third-year pharmacy student, allegedly planned attacks against Israeli security forces and Jewish civilians with the aim of causing mass casualties. Prosecutors are seeking to have him held in custody until the conclusion of the legal proceedings.

The indictment was filed by Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office prosecutor Amichai Marks. Shalabi is charged with preparing a terrorist act constituting murder and receiving training for terrorist purposes. 

According to prosecutors, Shalabi underwent an ideological radicalization process following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war.

The indictment alleges that he systematically consumed material associated with Hamas and ISIS and eventually decided to use knowledge acquired through his pharmacy studies, as well as his access to chemical substances, to prepare deadly attacks.

The case reportedly began with a plan in early 2025 that was narrower in scope. According to the indictment, Shalabi became angry over parking tickets issued to worshippers near a mosque in Beit Hanina. He allegedly planned to place an explosive device at a location where law-enforcement personnel routinely stood. Prosecutors allege that he monitored the area for approximately two months and downloaded online instructions for manufacturing explosives. The plan was ultimately abandoned after security personnel stopped coming to the location.

The indictment alleges that Shalabi subsequently developed a more ambitious plan to carry out a large-scale attack. According to prosecutors, he sought to kill “many Jews” and joined Telegram groups associated with terrorist organizations, including a group identified with ISIS.

He allegedly downloaded dozens of files containing instructions for preparing explosives and lethal poisons. Prosecutors further allege that he copied recipes for toxic substances into a notebook and documented materials that could be used to manufacture explosives.

The indictment claims that his activities progressed beyond online research and planning to practical preparations. Shalabi allegedly traveled to Ramallah on two occasions to purchase chemicals and equipment. He deliberately divided the purchases into separate transactions in an effort to avoid raising suspicion and subsequently stored the materials in his bedroom.

He allegedly also conducted a chemical experiment in the bathtub of his home, during which he ignited a mixture he had prepared to test the materials. Shalabi attempted to conceal his activities by deleting files and search history from his cellphone.

The case comes amid a series of recent indictments involving alleged preparations for terrorist attacks in Israel. Earlier this week, prosecutors filed an indictment against a mathematics lecturer at Bar-Ilan University, later named as Shachar Nevo, who was accused of developing a plan to establish armed cells and carry out mass attacks against Arab citizens. The prosecution alleged that the suspect had been developing the plan for years and sought to recruit others to participate.

Jerusalem has also repeatedly been the focus of investigations involving weapons, explosives and terrorist activity. In a previous case, prosecutors charged a Jerusalem resident with producing and distributing pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails and fireworks during violent disturbances and with maintaining contacts with terrorist organizations.

The Shalabi case is different in that prosecutors allege the suspect sought to exploit his academic knowledge and access to chemicals as part of preparations for an attack.

The prosecution is asking the Jerusalem District Court to retain Shalabi in custody until the end of the proceedings, arguing that the alleged preparations and the nature of the offenses warrant continued detention.