News
Five arrested in northern Israel over ISIS activity
Following an investigation by the Shin Bet security agency, it was announced yesterday that five residents of Nazareth in northern Israel were arrested for planning terror attacks inspired by ISIS.
The cell was arrested during the past few weeks and all five men are Arab Israeli citizens, aged between 18 and 27, who were reportedly been radicalised during the past year or so. The group apparently regularly met to watch ISIS videos and speeches by radical imams, resolving to commit “jihad against infidels.” The five men were also training in the use of weapons and following their arrest, they led Israeli security services to arms they had collected and practiced using, including a Russian semi-automatic SKS rifle and a Carl Gustav recoilless rifle.
The state prosecution said that the cell posed a “real and imminent threat to the public safety,” adding, “In addition to the clear threat to public security posed by their positions and actions, we should note the fact that the [suspects] had weapons and were planning to equip themselves with even more weapons.” Among the charges, the five men have been indicted for arms-related offences, support of an unlawful organisation, and attending meetings of an unlawful organisation.
It is not the first time that arrests have been made in Israel over ISIS related activity. In October, seven Israeli citizens from Arab communities in northern Israel were charged with plotting an attack on behalf of ISIS, having undergone training and identified targets. Several Arab Israelis are also thought to have travelled to Syria via Turkey to fight for ISIS.
Meanwhile, analyst Avi Issacharroff says in Times of Israel that Hamas is operating a “revolving door” policy regarding ISIS activists in the Gaza Strip. Although publicly Hamas declares its opposition to ISIS, it is thought that in practice there is cooperation between two terror groups. As a result, Issacharoff says that ISIS operatives who fire rockets at Israel from Gaza are invariably arrested and released shortly thereafter.