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2 Palestinians accused of planning attack on Israeli forces

Xinhua, March 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Two Palestinians from east Jerusalem were indicted on Monday for allegedly planning to attack Israeli security forces in favor of the Islamic State (IS) group.

An indictment was filed in a Jerusalem court against Moasab Alian, 23, and Samir Abed Rabu, 38, residents of the Palestinian village of Zur Baher in east Jerusalem, protocols provided by the Israeli Court Authority spokesperson showed.

They, among others, are charged with conspiring to aid an enemy during wartime, joining and supporting a terror group and contacting with a foreign agent, the indictment said.

The two supported and decided to join the IS group, which Israel had outlawed two years ago, and attempted to travel to Syria, it added.

It also stated that the two conspired with a member of the group and plotted together to make an explosive device and detonate it against Israeli security forces in Jerusalem.

The two were said to have purchased in October 2015 a cellular phone, set to function as a remote control to operate the device. As well they were found to have bought metal powder fuel, used for explosives.

Dozens of Arab Israelis have been arrested and tried in the past couple of years for attempting to join the IS.

Israeli defense officials worry that the group would target Israel and Israelis in the near future, after making several statements against the country.

Israeli and Turkish authorities looked into whether a March 19 bombing attack in Istanbul, in which three Israelis were killed and was claimed by the IS, was aimed at Israelis, although there is no confirmation of this as of yet.

Palestinian villages in east Jerusalem were annexed by Israel after they were captured in the 1967 Mideast War, in a move dubbed illegal by the international community, and 300,000 Palestinians live there, with ID cards but without citizenship.

The indictment recounting the alleged plan to attack Israeli security forces in Jerusalem comes amid a wave of violence that started in October, and claimed the lives of 28 Israelis and 190 Palestinians. Endit