BICOM

Two men from Arab communities in the north of Israel were charged yesterday with attempting to join ISIS in Syria.

24-year-old Abed el Fatah from Nazareth and 35-year-old Asraf Rabia from Shfaram, are said to have made contact with a third man in Jerusalem, Mohammed Abdullah, who left for Syria and is thought to have joined and been trained by ISIS. Rabia was also charged with being in possession of illegal firearms.

There have been several cases of Israeli citizens attempting to join ISIS. Last week, a mother of five from Shfaram was sentenced to a twenty two month prison sentence for such an offence. An Israeli citizen from Umm al-Fahm is said to have been killed in a US-led bombing raid in Syria in March.

In other security developments, a Palestinian man was convicted on two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder yesterday, after carrying out a deadly stabbing in Tel Aviv in November. 36-year-old father of five Raed Masalmeh, from near Hebron in the West Bank, stabbed worshipers gathered for Jewish afternoon prayers at an office building. He told investigators that he carried out the attack for nationalistic reasons. The prosecution is reportedly seeking a double life sentence.

Earlier this week, 22-year-old Bilal Abu Ghanem was sentenced to three life sentences plus sixty years for a gun and knife attack on a Jerusalem bus in October, which killed three people. A second terrorist was shot dead during the attack in the East Talpiot neighbourhood in which Abu Ghanem shot fourteen rounds. A wave of Palestinian attacks since October has claimed 40 victims.

Meanwhile, clashes took place last night in the West Bank town of al-Mazra’‎a ash-Shimaliyya north of Ramallah. Israeli soldiers had arrived to arrest a wanted man when the violence broke out. Thirteen Palestinians were hurt according to Palestinian media reports.