Beersheba terror suspect admits to 'wanting to blow up' nightclub dancers

Abdullah Gergawi, who was indicted Tuesday over an alleged plot to carry out a terrorist attack near the Forum nightclub in Beersheba, told investigators that he intended to target people dancing at the venue.

“I wanted to blow up the people dancing there, whether they were Jews or Arabs.”

Gergawi, 20, from Shaqib al Salam, was charged with several offenses, including contact with a foreign agent, providing services or means to a terrorist organization, preparing to carry out an act of terrorism, and training or instruction for terrorist purposes.

During his interrogation, Gergawi admitted that he had searched YouTube for instructions on how to make explosives.

“A video appeared for me about how to make an explosive filling. The video said that I needed agricultural lime, sulfur, and charcoal. I found lime in my storage room because I have an uncle who works in Jenin. I took a cup of lime from the sack, and took from it an amount of 75 grams of lime, charcoal, and sulfur.”

Gergawi joined ISIS group messages on Signal

Gergawi also told investigators that he took charcoal from his home and obtained sulfur from matches.

“I ground them up and mixed the materials and put them in a cup and took them to my grandfather’s house, to the concrete yard, where I tried to ignite them and there was a spark and smoke."

"I want to say that before I took the sulfur from the matches, I went to Dahariya and Bani Naim and looked there for sulfur to use in preparing the explosive material, but I did not find any because they did not agree to sell it to me and some told me they did not have any, so after I returned home I decided to take the sulfur from the matches.”

According to the indictment, Gergawi began consuming ISIS related content on social media as early as 2022. He later began supporting the terrorist organization and identifying with it.

As his involvement deepened, Gergawi contacted ISIS supporters and discussed the organization with them. Through those contacts, he was exposed to additional ISIS materials, according to the indictment.

In the months before his arrest, Gergawi joined a small group on the Signal messaging app, where members discussed jihad and developments in Israel.

When he learned that the group was expected to shut down, Gergawi urged its members to take action. He was told that he needed to be patient and that they would contact him when they needed him.

After the group was shut down, Gergawi deleted Signal from his phone in an effort to avoid leaving any traces.