The Shin Bet and the Israel Police have arrested two suspects who pledged allegiance to ISIS and planned to travel abroad for terrorist training, the police stated on Wednesday.
The suspects were identified as Kinan Azaizeh, a 20-year-old resident of Daburiyya, and another suspect from Acre. They were arrested on suspicion of membership in the ISIS terrorist organization and of maintaining contact with a foreign agent acting on the group’s behalf.
According to information obtained during the investigation, the two planned to travel to an enemy state to undergo training or instruction for terrorist purposes. They had already taken preparatory steps to implement the plan.
During Azaizeh’s interrogation by the Northern District Major Crimes Unit and the Shin Bet, investigators found that he had pledged allegiance to ISIS to advance the organization’s goals, expressed willingness to carry out security-related activity on its behalf, and considered carrying out a terrorist attack against IDF soldiers.
The investigation also revealed that Azaizeh had been in contact with ISIS-affiliated elements abroad, learned how to manufacture pipe bombs and explosives, and planned to travel overseas for training.
At the conclusion of the investigation by the Shin Bet and Northern District police, the Northern District Attorney’s Office is expected to file an indictment against Azaizeh in the Nazareth District Court.
Suspect arrested after pledging allegiance to ISIS, planning a deadly attack
In a separate case, a serious indictment was filed about three months ago in the Hadera Magistrate’s Court against Najib Dik, a 25-year-old resident of Baka al-Gharbiya, who was arrested after pledging allegiance to ISIS and planning a deadly attack.
According to prosecutors, Dik considered attaching an explosive device to a kiosk near the moshav of Maor, where soldiers were present, with the intention of killing them. He also drove around the area while listening to jihadist songs, but ultimately did not carry out the attack.
An indictment filed by the Haifa District Attorney’s Office states that the defendant recruited himself into ISIS, was systematically exposed to terror and execution videos, and downloaded manuals for making explosive devices to his phone.
He later watched a video of an oath of allegiance to the organization and read the declaration aloud while mentioning the name of ISIS’s current leader, thereby considering himself a full member of the group. Among other actions, he examined the possibility of traveling to Somalia to join ISIS operatives.