Four Arabs from Jerusalem were arrested on suspicion of affiliating with ISIS and procuring military equipment and weapons to be used against Jews “in the great war at the end of days,” the Israel Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said in a joint statement on Friday.
Attorney Amir Darawsheh of the Jerusalem District Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against two of them, Muhammad Abd al-Nabi, 26, and Jibril Mash’al, 23, with the investigation against the other two still ongoing, Israel’s Channel 13 reported.
Detectives from the Jerusalem Police’s Central Unit together with Border Police fighters “recently” arrested the four suspects, the police and Shin Bet said.
The detainees, all in their 20s, are residents of the Beit Safafa neighborhood in the capital’s south.
According to the indictment, cited by Channel 13, al-Nabi has for years believed that a “great war” will erupt in which he would fight against “infidels,” especially Jews.
In February and March, al-Nabi persuaded Mash’al to assist in the purchase of a weapon, which the latter procured with the help of his brother at the cost short of $11,000. The pistol was reportedly found in a chicken coop at Mash’al’s home.
During questioning, Mash’al reportedly said that the weapon would serve him “for the great war” and that he would “use it against Jews or against anyone who is not Muslim.”
The investigation found that the four suspects consumed ISIS-related content online, including gory content and killing videos.
Al-Nabi and Mash’al stand charged with handling weapons for terrorist purposes, trafficking in weapons and ammunition together, carrying a weapon, and possessing weapons parts and ammunition, according to the report.
The court extended the remand of the other two suspects.
