In a high-stakes case that has thrown renewed focus on surging far-right extremism targeting Palestinian communities across Israel and the occupied territories, a 60-something mathematics lecturer from Tel Aviv’s Bar-Ilan University has been formally indicted on charges of plotting coordinated mass casualty attacks designed to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. Details of the chilling plot, first reported by leading Israeli outlet Yedioth Ahronoth, are laid out in a detailed prosecution indictment, with the suspect’s identity remaining sealed under a court-ordered gag order.
Prosecutors lay out a premeditated, years-long plan that the accused codenamed “AIT”, an abbreviation for a Hebrew phrase translating to “the nation will carry out transfer” — a reference to the forced ethnic expulsion of Palestinians. The indictment outlines that the lecturer began conceptualizing the attack blueprint in February 2023, months after widespread intercommunal violence ripped through Israel in 2021. He dramatically escalated his organizational work following the October 7, 2023 attacks led by Hamas on southern Israel, the document claims.
According to the prosecution’s narrative, the plot was structured to deploy 72 armed attackers, including the lecturer himself, divided into 12 six-person cells. Each cell would be outfitted with firearms, axes, and hammers to carry out synchronized strikes across a broad range of targets: Palestinian citizens of Israel, Bedouin communities within Israel’s recognized borders, Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem, and Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank. The end goal, prosecutors allege, was to inflict mass casualties that would trigger widespread panic and force all targeted Palestinians to flee permanently to Jordan, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip.
Court documents detail that the accused carried out pre-attack surveillance on multiple target locations, including the Bedouin community of Tuba-Zangariyye in northern Israel, where he mapped potential entry routes for attackers. Over more than a year, he repeatedly attempted to recruit co-conspirators to carry out the plot, but prosecution records confirm no individuals agreed to join. The lecturer also allegedly reached out to far-right Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin, leader of the Zehut party, in an attempt to secure help sourcing participants. When Feiglin failed to respond to his outreach, the suspect resorted to blackmail, sending threatening letters that warned he would release damaging private information to ruin Feiglin’s public reputation. Feiglin and his party’s members immediately reported the threats to Israeli law enforcement, a move that ultimately uncovered the full plot.
The case is now working its way through Israeli courts, with both sides presenting opposing arguments on pre-trial detention. Prosecutors have formally requested that the suspect remain in full custody through the conclusion of all legal proceedings, arguing that his violent far-right ideology and the advanced, detailed nature of his attack planning mark him as an immediate threat to public safety. The lecturer has pushed for release to house arrest, telling a recent court hearing that he poses no current danger to any person and needs to return home to grade student exams, reporting Israeli news outlet Ynet.
Bar-Ilan University, the suspect’s employer, has already taken formal action: officials announced the lecturer’s immediate suspension pending the outcome of the trial, and issued a formal statement condemning the allegations, noting the institution maintains “zero tolerance” for any violent or extremist activity that matches the accusations.
This indictment comes at a moment of already intense international scrutiny over rising far-right settler violence targeting Palestinians in Israel and the occupied West Bank, particularly after the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023. Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) documents a staggering surge in attacks: between January 1 and September 14, 2024 alone, OCHA recorded more than 1,600 settler attacks that left Palestinians injured, caused property damage, or both. Since the start of 2023, more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in violence across the occupied West Bank.
Earlier in 2024, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory labeled the ongoing escalation of Israeli settler violence against Palestinian communities as “unprecedented” and sustained. The commission’s report further found that the Israeli government actively enables these attacks through a combination of direct financial backing, logistical support, and military protection for extremist settlers.
This independent reporting on the case was first published by Middle East Eye, a media outlet focused on original, in-depth coverage of the Middle East, North Africa, and broader global affairs.