JERUSALEM (JTA) — Three Israeli Arabs, including a 16-year-old, were arrested for planning a shooting on the Temple Mount.
The suspects, all from Umm al-Fahm, a city of mostly Israeli Arabs near Haifa in northern Israel, are supporters of the Islamic State, the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, said in a statement issued Thursday. One possessed weapons to carry out the attack, which was to be modeled after one in July that killed two Israeli Border Police officers.
Following the Sept. 17 arrest and questioning of the three suspects, others from the Umm al-Fahm area were detained on suspicion of trafficking in war materiel. Some of the illegal weapons were seized.
The planning began shortly after two gunmen opened fire July 14 attack on the Temple Mount, the Israel Security Agency said. The shooting spurred violence and tension at the holy site over increased Israeli security measures, including metal detectors.
The Israel Security Agency said in a statement that it “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.”
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