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2 Israeli Arabs charged with planning IS-inspired attacks

Xinhua, March 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Two Israeli Arabs were indicted Thursday with supporting the Islamic State (IS) and planning to carry out attacks against security forces on behalf of the militant group.

A statement by the Shin Bet security service said that Bahaa Eldin Ziad Hasan Masarwa, 19, and Ahmad Nabil Ahmad, 21, were arrested in a joint operation by the Shin Bet and the police earlier this year. Both are Israeli citizens and residents of the northern Nazareth region.

An indictment filed Thursday in the Nazareth District Court accused them of "conspiring to assist the enemy during war." Masarwa was also indicted with contacting a "foreign agent" and supporting a terror organization.

During their interrogations, the pair said they were inspired by the IS, the Shin Bet said. They planned to perpetrate shooting attacks against soldiers or police in the northern city of Afula and the Jalamea Crossing, west of Jenin, said the Shin Bet.

They also allegedly collected money to buy a rifle for the attacks.

Dozens of Israeli Arabs have been accused of supporting or joining the IS over the past years.

In another development on Thursday, a man from Gaza was charged in an Israeli court with planning attacks on Jews in Ukraine. Sami Haviv, a 30-year-old Palestinian, who spent years in Ukraine, has allegedly also provided Hamas logistic assistance with excavating cross-border tunnels during Israel's 51-day offensive in Gaza in 2014.

The indictments came amidst a five-month-long Palestinian uprising, with frequent stabbing, shooting, and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians in Israel and the occupied West Bank. At least 170 Palestinians and 28 Israelis have been killed since October. Endit