Pharmacy Student Charged With Plotting Mass-Casualty Attacks Using Bombs and Poisons

Prosecutors have filed an indictment against Mohammed Shalabi, a 22-year-old resident of Beit Hanina and a pharmacy student, on charges of preparing for an act of terror and receiving training for terror purposes. According to the indictment, Shalabi planned to carry out attacks against security forces and Jewish civilians using explosive devices and deadly poisons with the aim of causing mass casualties.

Shalabi, who worked as a pharmacy assistant, underwent ideological radicalization, partly influenced by the events of October 7 and the Swords of Iron War. He systematically consumed content associated with Hamas and ISIS, deciding to leverage his academic knowledge and access to chemical materials for lethal attacks. In early 2025, angered by parking tickets issued to worshippers near a mosque in Beit Hanina, Shalabi planned to plant a bomb where law enforcement officers frequently stood. He monitored their activities for two months and downloaded online guides for making explosives. This plan was abandoned when the officers stopped coming to the location.

Subsequently, Shalabi conceived a large-scale attack, stating his intention to kill "a lot of Jews." He joined Telegram groups affiliated with terrorist organizations, including one linked to ISIS, downloading dozens of files with instructions for creating bombs, explosives, and deadly poisons. He also copied recipes for poisons that could cause death through contact, inhalation, or ingestion into a notebook and documented materials usable for explosives.

The indictment details that Shalabi moved from planning to concrete preparatory actions. He traveled to Ramallah twice, purchasing chemical materials and equipment, splitting his purchases to avoid suspicion, and storing them in his room. He conducted a chemical experiment in his bathroom, igniting a mixture to test the materials. Shalabi also deleted files and search history from his phone to conceal his activities.