The two terrorists who committed the deadly attack in Ra'anana in January planned to kill a senior IDF officer, the police said on Wednesday after having published the findings of its investigation.
According to Israeli media, the senior officer targeted in the attack was the IDF's spokesperson in Arabic, Avichay Adraee.
Findings of the investigation
Muhammad Zaidat, 44, and Ahmed Zaidat, 24, carried out a joint stabbing and ramming attack, killing Edna Bluestein, 79, and wounding dozens of others.
The investigation revealed that prior to the attack, one of the terrorists identified the senior IDF officer sitting in a restaurant in Ra’anana. Deciding to harm him, he subsequently hunted for him throughout the city, armed with a knife.
The two terrorists, who worked at a car wash in the city, utilized two vehicles that were left on the premises and began the ramming attack. One of the terrorists stole an additional vehicle from a driver; he fled the scene and ran over pedestrians, later hiding in the vicinity of the car wash where he was arrested, the police said.
In parallel, the second terrorist rammed into a group of pedestrians at a bus stop, killing one of them. He then fled the scene and was later arrested by police.
In the coming days, an indictment will be filed against them by the Central District Prosecutor's Office, the police concluded.