19-year-old Israeli resident charged over links to ISIL
In Israel, 19-year-old Yaqub Shibli, a resident of the northern village of Shibli, has been charged with membership in a terrorist organization. He became the fourth resident of northern Israel to be charged in less than two weeks in a case involving alleged links to the Islamic State (ISIL) group, The Jerusalem Post reports.
Charges against Shibli resident
Shibli was arrested on August 16 during a joint operation by Israel’s Shin Bet security service and the central investigative unit of the Northern District Police. According to the investigation, he expressed support for ISIL, viewed materials about the group and pledged allegiance to it.
The prosecution filed an indictment with the Nof HaGalil–Nazareth Magistrate’s Court. It was the fourth indictment against residents of northern Israel filed since August 28.
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Other indictments
In one of the previous cases, the Haifa District Prosecutor’s Office charged a 16-year-old resident of Galilee and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kaabiya from Haifa. Law enforcement officials claim that both pledged allegiance to ISIL and separately developed plans to attack Israeli security forces.
According to police and Shin Bet, the minor searched online for instructions on making an explosive belt and, according to the investigation, planned to attack police officers and soldiers on the Temple Mount. Kaabiya, investigators claim, planned an attack on an Israel Defense Forces base in the north of the country. His lawyer, Suhad Agha-Dakhla, denied that her client had planned an attack, saying that he viewed ISIL materials out of curiosity.
Five days later, prosecutors charged 30-year-old Khamis Suad from Husayniya in Galilee with undergoing training or receiving instruction for terrorist purposes. According to the indictment, Suad, who served in the Israel Defense Forces in 2017–2019, increasingly identified with ISIL from 2023. Prosecutors claim that he decided to travel to Syria or Africa to join the group, raised money for the trip and viewed materials on combat training, weapons, rocket-making and drones.
