WASHINGTON >> A Jordanian citizen living in Orlando was charged with vandalizing storefronts, smashing solar panels and threatening to use explosives during a spree of escalating attacks targeting people and businesses he believed supported Israel, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, 43, is accused of engaging in several nighttime attacks on property that resulted in no injuries and that began in June, according to documents unsealed in the Middle District of Florida. But he appeared to be progressing toward bigger targets with potentially deadly results.

Prosecutors said Hnaihen, who wore a mask to conceal his identity, began by breaking the glass front doors of local businesses. Soon after, he broke into a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield, Florida, where he smashed panels, cut wires and broke electronic equipment — causing about $700,000 in damage.

— The New York Times