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| Israel Holds 5 Palestinian Citizens Suspected of Supporting ISIS | Israel Holds 5 Palestinian Citizens Suspected of Supporting ISIS |
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| JERUSALEM — Five Palestinian citizens of Israel have been arrested in recent weeks on suspicion of supporting the Islamic State, acquiring rifles and practicing shooting in a forest, according to Israeli officials. | JERUSALEM — Five Palestinian citizens of Israel have been arrested in recent weeks on suspicion of supporting the Islamic State, acquiring rifles and practicing shooting in a forest, according to Israeli officials. |
| The accusations suggested that the suspects may have intended to carry out an assault, though there did not seem to be evidence that their activities had coalesced into a concrete plot, according to the details of the case released by the Israeli security agency, Shin Bet. | The accusations suggested that the suspects may have intended to carry out an assault, though there did not seem to be evidence that their activities had coalesced into a concrete plot, according to the details of the case released by the Israeli security agency, Shin Bet. |
| A joint effort by the agency and the police led to the arrests in October and November of several residents of Nazareth, in the Galilee region of northern Israel, the authorities said in a statement on Tuesday. Five of those arrested have since been charged with weapons violations and support for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. The group is outlawed in Israel. | A joint effort by the agency and the police led to the arrests in October and November of several residents of Nazareth, in the Galilee region of northern Israel, the authorities said in a statement on Tuesday. Five of those arrested have since been charged with weapons violations and support for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. The group is outlawed in Israel. |
| The five suspects range in age from 18 to 27, according to the statement, and all share the same surname, Sleiman, suggesting that they are related. | The five suspects range in age from 18 to 27, according to the statement, and all share the same surname, Sleiman, suggesting that they are related. |
| Saher Far, a lawyer representing two of the accused, said that eight or nine men had originally been detained, but that some had been released without charges. | Saher Far, a lawyer representing two of the accused, said that eight or nine men had originally been detained, but that some had been released without charges. |
| “They came from not particularly religious families, good families,” he said of his clients, adding that they had not admitted to supporting the Islamic State in their interrogations. | “They came from not particularly religious families, good families,” he said of his clients, adding that they had not admitted to supporting the Islamic State in their interrogations. |
| About 34 Arab citizens of Israel have been arrested over the last year on suspicion of activities related to the Islamic State, according to Shin Bet, and 32 more are believed to have gone to Syria or Iraq, where the Islamic State controls territory. A security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with her agency’s rules, said that there had been a slight increase in the number of Israeli citizens suspected of Islamic State-related activity in 2015 compared with 2014, but that early detection had prevented any serious threat. | |
| Some suspected would-be jihadists from the Galilee region were charged early this year with support for a terrorist organization and efforts to contact the Islamic State, known for beheadings and other brutal methods of killing perceived enemies. They were accused of having trained for battle by slaughtering sheep and riding horses at a local farm. | |
| In September, a 44-year-old woman from a town in Galilee was charged with planning to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State. In August 2014, a Bedouin doctor from the Negev Desert in southern Israel was killed while fighting for the group in Syria. | In September, a 44-year-old woman from a town in Galilee was charged with planning to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State. In August 2014, a Bedouin doctor from the Negev Desert in southern Israel was killed while fighting for the group in Syria. |
| State prosecutors have appealed to Israel’s High Court in the case of an Arab resident of Nazareth, Maharan Haldi, 20, who was arrested and convicted after he went to Syria and Iraq to fight with the Islamic State and then returned to Israel, Israel Radio reported on Wednesday. A lower court sentenced Mr. Haldi to three and a half years in prison, which prosecutors consider too lenient. Israel radio said the court in Nazareth had taken into account Mr. Haldi’s regret and his personal background. | |
| Palestinian citizens of Israel, about a fifth of the country’s population, have rarely participated in organized armed attacks. Those who have gravitated toward the Islamic State are a tiny minority. Experts and commentators said some might be attracted because of longstanding grievances about discrimination in Israel. | Palestinian citizens of Israel, about a fifth of the country’s population, have rarely participated in organized armed attacks. Those who have gravitated toward the Islamic State are a tiny minority. Experts and commentators said some might be attracted because of longstanding grievances about discrimination in Israel. |
| “Youths are looking for an outlet,” said Salim Shehada, a veteran reporter at Ashams, a local Arabic radio station. He added that Muslim families in Israel were growing concerned that Islamic State recruiting could seduce their children. | “Youths are looking for an outlet,” said Salim Shehada, a veteran reporter at Ashams, a local Arabic radio station. He added that Muslim families in Israel were growing concerned that Islamic State recruiting could seduce their children. |
| “The unemployment, the spreading crime inside Arab villages in Israel, the dark future that many of these youths face is leading to a certain kind of extremism and support for these ideas,” Mr. Shehada said. | “The unemployment, the spreading crime inside Arab villages in Israel, the dark future that many of these youths face is leading to a certain kind of extremism and support for these ideas,” Mr. Shehada said. |
| Daniel Nisman of the Levantine Group, a geopolitical risk analysis company based in Tel Aviv, said the most recent arrests suggested the first plot to carry out an Islamic State-inspired attack in Israel. | Daniel Nisman of the Levantine Group, a geopolitical risk analysis company based in Tel Aviv, said the most recent arrests suggested the first plot to carry out an Islamic State-inspired attack in Israel. |
| “I think, like in many places, it is gradually heading toward people who will try to do something like that in the name of the Islamic State, similar to the attack in San Bernardino,” Mr. Nisman said, referring to the massacre in California last week. He described the suspects as “wannabes who have access to guns.” | “I think, like in many places, it is gradually heading toward people who will try to do something like that in the name of the Islamic State, similar to the attack in San Bernardino,” Mr. Nisman said, referring to the massacre in California last week. He described the suspects as “wannabes who have access to guns.” |
| Shin Bet said in a statement that it had obtained information that the suspects who were recently charged had been “holding suspicious meetings and conducting weapons training.” It did not explain how the agency had received the information. But it said that it had become apparent from the interrogation that the suspects had grown more religiously observant over the last year and, during their meetings, “expressed support for the Islamic State and praised jihad against non-Muslims.” | Shin Bet said in a statement that it had obtained information that the suspects who were recently charged had been “holding suspicious meetings and conducting weapons training.” It did not explain how the agency had received the information. But it said that it had become apparent from the interrogation that the suspects had grown more religiously observant over the last year and, during their meetings, “expressed support for the Islamic State and praised jihad against non-Muslims.” |
| The agency said the suspects had obtained a Russian SKS semiautomatic rifle and a Carl Gustaf, a Swedish submachine gun. | The agency said the suspects had obtained a Russian SKS semiautomatic rifle and a Carl Gustaf, a Swedish submachine gun. |
| Raghad Sleiman — a sister of one of the suspects, Murad Muhammad Sleiman, 27 — said he was deputy manager of a factory in Migdal HaEmek in northern Israel, was building a house and was engaged to be married. “Murad had no extremist thoughts,” she told the Ashams radio station. “He used to say he was against ISIS and against terrorism.” | Raghad Sleiman — a sister of one of the suspects, Murad Muhammad Sleiman, 27 — said he was deputy manager of a factory in Migdal HaEmek in northern Israel, was building a house and was engaged to be married. “Murad had no extremist thoughts,” she told the Ashams radio station. “He used to say he was against ISIS and against terrorism.” |
| Ms. Sleiman asserted that rumors about the suspects training with weapons began after they shot at one another with fake guns in a garden near one of their homes during a recent holiday. | Ms. Sleiman asserted that rumors about the suspects training with weapons began after they shot at one another with fake guns in a garden near one of their homes during a recent holiday. |