Plot to assassinate Israeli minister foiled, ISIS terror cell nabbed in Jerusalem

Shin Bet thwart plot to kill Minister Ben-Gvir near his home, police foil shooting attacks in Jerusalem.

By World Israel News Staff

Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem who pledged allegiance to the ISIS terror group and were planning to travel overseas for military training were arrested by the Israeli police, according to a statement from the authorities.

The three men, all in their 20s, were planning a series of terror attacks against high-profile targets in the Jerusalem area.

The cell had originally planned to build and detonate explosives in a mass casualty attack, but due to logistical issues, had decided to pursue shooting attacks instead.

Possible locations scouted for the attack were Teddy Stadium, the largest soccer arena in Jerusalem, and a police station.

One of the men arrested had been trained by ISIS operatives abroad, and was encouraging the other two men to travel to a foreign country in order to learn terror tactics.

The arrests took place in March but were only cleared for publication on Thursday due to the sensitive nature of the investigation, police said.

An indictment was filed against the defendants in the Jerusalem District Court on the same day that details of the plot were made public.

Also on Thursday, the Shin Bet intelligence agency announced that they had arrested eleven men who were part of a plot to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The terrorists were preparing to kill Ben-Gvir near his home in Kiryat Arba, Hebron, by using rocket-propelled grenades and other projectiles.

Those suspects were also planning an attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport, as well as plotting to kidnap Israeli soldiers, the Shin Bet said in a statement.

The members of the cell were a mix of Arab-Israelis and Palestinian residents of Judea and Samaria, with some originating from the southern Negev Bedouin city of Rahat and the mixed Arab-Jewish city of Lod in central Israel.

Since the October 7th massacres, Israel has seen a spike in terror attacks.