News
Three Israelis arrested for planning Temple Mount attack
The Shin Bet security agency announced yesterday that three Israeli-Arab citizens from Umm al-Fahm were arrested on suspicion of supporting ISIS and planning a terrorist attack.
It is understood that the three individuals were planning a terrorist attack on the Temple Mount, similar to the 14 July attack in which two Israeli-Druze policemen were shot dead. The perpetrators of that attack also came from Umm al-Fahm.
All three were arrested earlier this month in a joint operation of the Shin Bet and the Israeli police.
Two of the suspects have been named as Sa’id Ghasoub Mahmoud Jabarin, 26, and Fares Salah Mahmoud Mahajneh, 24, an ISIS supporter who is suspected of possessing firearms. The third suspect was arrested as an accomplice, but his name was not released as he is 16 years old.
Both Jabarin and the minor were indicted in the Haifa District Court on charges of conspiring to aid an enemy, contact with a foreign agent and firearms offences.
As part of the investigation, the police found two handguns and ammunition that it is alleged were to be used in the attack. Additionally a “Carl Gustav” type sub-machine gun was found in Mahajne’s house.
According to the investigation, the three were exposed to ISIS websites and official ISIS videos, which inspired them to plan the attack. The suspects visited the Temple Mount to gather intelligence and scout out potential locations to carry out the attack.
In a statement on the arrests a senior Shin Bet official said: “two residents of Umm al-Fahm planned to carry out a similar attack on the Temple Mount. The attack was thwarted thanks to precise intelligence, which enabled the timely arrest of the members of the cell. The Shin Bet views Israelis who support the terrorist Islamic State organization, especially those who are in contact with its operatives and who work on its behalf inside the State of Israel, as a serious security threat. The ISA (Shin Bet) will continue to take determined action and use the necessary enforcement measures to prevent the dissemination of the Islamic State ideology in Israel and to thwart the carrying out of any activity that harms the security of the state.”