The Shin Bet revealed on Sunday evening that a rocket was discovered in an east Jerusalem neighborhood on Yom Yerushalayim last month.

IDF forces found the rocket during the Jerusalem Flag March, which is held every year under threats of rocket attacks by Palestinian terror groups. In 2021, Hamas launched rockets at Jerusalem on Jerusalem Day, triggering Operation Guardian of the Walls.

The rocket was found in an open area of the Beit Hanina neighborhood in Jerusalem, a short distance past the security barrier, and a suspect was arrested in a joint investigation of the incident by the Shin Bet and IDF.

The suspect, Abdel Hakim Buatna, a resident of the Palestinian Authority town of Ajul, was interrogated for the alleged intent to launch rockets at Jerusalem during the Flag March. He claimed that he worked alone, without affiliation to any terror group, and that he learned how to construct and launch rockets from Telegram groups and the internet.

He also claimed that he built the rocket “out of curiosity” and had not planned to launch it at a specific time.

According to reports, although Buatna succeeded in assembling two rockets and attempted to launch them numerous times, none of the launches were successful.

The base of the rocket that was found attested to the previous launches as it was old and damaged. There were also no explosives inside the rocket when the IDF found it.

Palestinians in the Jenin area attempted to launch at least two rockets at a Jewish yishuv on Monday morning, the second such incident in a month.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)