Israeli-Arab indicted for contact with terror groups, planned stabbing

According to the indictment, suspect was in contact with Radical Islamist groups and had planned to carry out a stabbing attack.

By Mara Vigevani, TPS

Ahmad Sarsour,  a 20-year-old Israeli-Arab from  Kafr Qassem, some 20 kilometers east of Tel Aviv, was indicted Sunday for being in contact with a foreign agent, being in contact with terrorist and radical Islamic organizations, financing terrorism, and planning to carry out a stabbing attack in Jerusalem.

According to the indictment filed by Adv. Mor Sharoni, between 2017 and 2018, until his arrest at the end of last month, Sarsour was in contact with terrorist organizations through Whatsapp, Facebook and Telegram. He chatted with them about his desire to reach Syria as well as about explosive materials and weapons.

On several occasions, he also transferred money to one of the activists in Syria with whom he was in touch.

He also asked for help from a man who supported Al-Qaeda to eliminate a Dutch political activist who initiated a competition of illustrations about the Prophet Muhammad.

In 2017, Sarsour purchased a ticket to Turkey and planned to cross from there into Syria illegally to join one of the Jihadi organizations operating in the country, but on the night of the flight his mother foiled his plans by taking away his passport.

At one point, between 2017 and 2018, the defendant also tried to acquire potassium to produce a rocket and to buy weapons for $14,000.

According to another charge, in 2015 the defendant decided to carry out a stabbing attack against Jews and for this purpose ordered a knife on the Internet. He arrived at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem with the knife, but a man who knew him persuaded him not to carry out the attack.

When forces arrived at his house to arrest him, he tried to delete Facebook from his mobile phone in order to prevent detectives from accessing it, police said.