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Israel busts ISIS cell that planned attack on Temple Mount

Israeli security forces arrested three Israeli Arabs who planned to carry out an attack on the Temple Mount in ISIS’ name.

The Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) arrested three Israeli-Arabs earlier this month who were charged with supporting the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group. Two of them had planned to carry out a shooting attack on the Temple Mount, similar to the deadly attack perpetrated in July.

On July 14, cousins Muhammad Ahmed Muhammad Jabarin, 29, Muhammad Hamad Abdel Latif Jabarin, 19, and Muhammad Ahmed Mafdal Jabarin, 19, all residents of the northern Arab town of Umm al-Fahm, shot and killed two Israeli Druze police officers, Master Sgt. Kamil Shnaan and Master Sgt. Haiel Sitawe.

The three-member ISIS cell busted by Israel’s forces included Said Gasub Mahmoud Jabarin, 26, who was involved in planning the July attack on Temple Mount; Faris Salah Mahmoud Mahajna, 24, an ISIS supporter suspected of “possessing war material,” i.e. the weapons, and a 16-year-old minor who was also involved in planning the Temple Mount attack. The three are also residents of Umm al-Fahm.

The Shin Bet’s investigation has revealed that Said Jabarin and the minor, who was arrested with him, had planned to carry out a shooting attack. After their arrest, they turned in ammunition, including two handguns.

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Furthermore, they “support the murderous ideology of Islamic State, which was the background to their planned attack,” the Shin Bet said on Thursday.

A Carl Gustav rifle was seized at the home of Faris Mahajna, the third suspect.

Following the arrest and questioning of the three suspects, other individuals from the Umm al-Fahm area were detained on suspicion of gun trafficking, items of which were captured during the raids.

A senior Shin Bet official stated that “the attack was thwarted thanks to precise intelligence which enabled the timely arrest of the members of the cell.”

ISIS Supporters in Israel Pose ‘Serious Security Threat’

The official further emphasized that the Shin Bet views Israelis who support ISIS, and especially those who are in contact with its operatives and who work on its behalf inside Israel, as “a serious security threat.”

The senior security official vowed that the 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.”

Israeli security forces have exposed several ISIS terror cells, comprised mostly of Arabs holding Israeli citizenship, operating in the Jewish state. Tens of suspects were arrested.

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Israel fears that Israelis returning home after fighting alongside ISIS will use their experience to establish terror networks and launch attacks within the country. Another threat is the possibility of ISIS influencing Arab Israelis, especially via social media, to attack the Jewish state and its citizens.

By: World Israel News Staff