JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Arab-Israeli cell was charged with planning to carry out attacks in Israel on behalf of the Islamic State, or ISIS.
The seven men, all residents of the Galilee region, were indicted Sunday in Haifa District court on charges of suspicion of joining an illegal organization, aiding a terror group and contact with a foreign agent.
They were arrested in November and December in northern Israel by Israel’s Shin Bet security service and the Israel Police, the Shin Bet said in a statement released Sunday.
It is believed that the cell members had been in contact by email and in person with Islamic State fighters in Syria, some likely Israeli citizens. They reportedly learned to make Molotov cocktails, and practiced slaughtering animals to prepare themselves for jihad, or holy war.
The cell reportedly planned to attack the Israel Defense Forces as well as Druze-Israelis, who are Arabs.
ISIS was declared illegal in Israel in September.
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