Prosecutors have charged a 22-year-old pharmacology student at Palestinian al-Quds University in East Jerusalem with allegedly preparing explosives and chemical weapons for an attack targeting Jews. According to the indictment, his initial plan involved attacking law enforcement officers in response to parking tickets issued to worshipers at his mosque.

Muhammad Shalbi faces charges in Jerusalem District Court of preparing to commit murder with a terror motive, an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison, as well as receiving training for terrorist purposes, which carries a potential seven-year sentence.

Shalbi was arrested on August 30. Prosecutors say that after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, he “underwent a process of religious revival and ideological radicalization,” according to the indictment filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.

Investigators allege that Shalbi began attending a mosque regularly in Beit Hanina, an East Jerusalem neighborhood, while consuming online material “identified with the terrorist groups Hamas and ISIS.” Prosecutors say he eventually resolved to “act against the State of Israel and security forces.”

According to the indictment, sometime around the beginning of 2025, Shalbi allegedly planned to detonate an explosive near the mosque and target police officers. Prosecutors say he was motivated by anger over parking tickets issued to vehicles belonging to worshipers who had parked near the mosque during prayers.

The indictment alleges that Shalbi monitored the officers for roughly two months while downloading instructional material concerning explosives. Prosecutors say he eventually abandoned that plan after the officers stopped appearing at the location.

Investigators allege that Shalbi subsequently developed a broader plan that continued until his arrest. Prosecutors say he “planned to carry out a terrorist attack in preparation for the ‘Day of Judgment,’ in which, according to his view, Jerusalem would be conquered.” During interrogation, the suspect allegedly said his objective was to kill “a ton of Jews.”

Around September 2025, prosecutors allege that Shalbi made two trips to Ramallah to obtain various laboratory and chemical materials. The indictment says the purchases included a thermometer, measuring cup, half a liter of hydrochloric acid, and several grams each of potassium permanganate, potassium chlorate, sodium sulfate and sodium hydroxide. Prosecutors noted that some of these substances can be used to generate chlorine gas, a choking agent that has been employed as a chemical weapon.

The indictment further alleges that Shalbi conducted an experiment in his bathtub involving potassium chlorate and sugar, a combination that can produce a highly combustible substance.

Prosecutors also accuse him of researching methods for creating an explosive using acetylsalicylic acid, a substance commonly sold in pharmacies as aspirin.

As part of what prosecutors describe as preparations for the planned “Day of Judgment” attack, Shalbi allegedly downloaded dozens of files containing information about producing explosives and chemical weapons from a Telegram group associated with ISIS. According to the indictment, he subsequently erased the files and his search history “with the aim of covering up his actions.”

The indictment also alleges that Shalbi wrote two recipes in a notebook for “toxins that can kill people through touch or taste.” Prosecutors say the notebook additionally contained a list of materials that could potentially be used in explosive devices, including substances obtainable from pharmacies.