Israeli military prosecutors have filed an indictment against a Palestinian man accused of orchestrating a failed bombing attack targeting public buses in central Israel earlier this year, a case that officials say could have caused mass casualties had the plan succeeded.

The suspect, Abed al-Karim Snober, was detained in July following months on the run and now faces multiple charges related to the February 20 explosions that rocked parking lots in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon. According to the indictment, Snober was part of a cell that sought to “harm a large number of civilians” by placing shrapnel-packed explosive devices in crowded urban areas.

Investigators say Snober manufactured several improvised bombs filled with nails and screws before entering Israel to plant them on public buses. On the evening of February 20, three empty buses exploded in quick succession, while two additional devices were discovered and defused before detonating.

The blasts, which occurred after the buses had completed their routes, caused no injuries but set off panic in the surrounding communities and triggered a large-scale security response.

Military officials said Snober fled back to the West Bank immediately after the failed attack, hiding in multiple locations until his capture five months later. During his time in hiding, prosecutors allege, Snober began planning a second attack — a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv — and was in the process of assembling new explosive devices when he was arrested.

The indictment, filed in a military court, also names several alleged accomplices, including an Israeli resident of Holon accused of transporting Snober to one of the bombing sites in Bat Yam. Prosecutors said additional indictments are expected as the investigation continues.

The IDF said Snober will remain in custody until the conclusion of legal proceedings. “This case underscores the continued efforts by terror elements to strike inside Israel’s civilian centers,” the IDF said in a statement.

Although the February incident caused no casualties, Israeli officials described it as one of the most serious attempted attacks in recent years, given the scale of planning and potential for mass fatalities. The case comes amid heightened security concerns following a series of attempted infiltrations and foiled bomb plots in central Israel this year.

The indictment also reflects a shift in terrorist tactics, officials say — from lone-wolf stabbings and shootings to coordinated bomb plots reminiscent of the attacks that defined earlier decades of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)