Alleged Islamic State backer charged with planning car-bomb attack at Beersheba club

The Southern District Attorney’s Office in Israel filed charges on Tuesday against 20-year-old Abdullah Gergawi, a resident of the Bedouin town of Segev Shalom, at the Beersheba District Court. According to a joint statement from the Israel Police and the Shin Bet, Gergawi faces charges related to security offenses and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. He was arrested on July 19. Security officials allege that Gergawi had been exposed to Islamic State propaganda on social media and was in contact with a person who presented himself as a Palestinian terror operative. Investigators state that Gergawi had taken steps to produce an explosive device as part of a plan to attack the Forum nightclub in Beersheba. Furthermore, investigators discovered that in 2025, Gergawi held various weapons at his home, including MAG and Negev machine guns, as well as Kalashnikov and M16 assault rifles. He is also accused of possessing an illegal M-16 knockoff, which he allegedly fired in an open area during March and April of this year.