Two Arab Israelis indicted for attempting to join Islamic State

The Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Office filed an indictment on Thursday against two Jaffa residents, Abdelmalek Asfour and Adam Abu Shehadeh, for attempting to join ISIS in Syria, Israeli media have reported.

Asfour allegedly made the decision to go to Syria and join the fighting after learning about Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front in 2015.

According to the indictment, Asfour connected with the organizations on Twitter in 2016 and continued to contact members from the organizations through Telegram, a messaging app that is notorious for clandestine and sometimes illegal conversations.

Asfour allegedly made contact with a Syrian source who said he could help Asfour cross into Syria. Asfour asked Abu Shehadeh to join him and the two planned to enter Syria via Turkey.

When the two arrived in Istanbul, they waited for instructions from their Syrian contact, according to the prosecution. The two did not hear from their source and eventually returned to Israel. An indictment was then filed against them for illegally trying to cross into Syria.

According to the State Prosecutor’s Office, the police have evidence to demonstrate the intentions of the two Israeli citizens, including Turkish flight tickets to Syria and thermal clothing and walking shoes purchased in Istanbul, Haaretz reported.

At the end of September, Asfour was arrested, and a week later Abu Shehadeh was also arrested, according to the report.

This is not the first time Israeli citizens have been arrested for ISIS-related activity. In June of 2018, the FBI arrested an Arab Israeli for recruiting for ISIS in Wisconsin.