Security forces foiled a terrorist cell from the Arab-Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm that was preparing to carry out attacks, the Israel Police said on Sunday.
In a joint operation of the Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), four suspects in their 20s were arrested, police said in the statement.
According to investigators, the suspects acquired firearms in preparation for carrying out attacks. Police said the group conducted live-fire exercises as part of its training.
During the investigation, additional weapons were seized, including handguns, a makeshift “Carlo”-type submachine gun, an M-16 rifle and ammunition. The suspects remain in custody as the investigation continues, police added.
Since the start of the War of Redemption began on Oct. 7, 2023, there has been growing radicalization among some segments of the Jewish state’s Arab population.
A poll conducted in December 2023 by the Israel Democracy Institute’s Center for Democratic Values and Institutions discovered that one-third of Israeli Arabs disagree with the statement that the Oct. 7 massacre of some 1,200 people, primarily Jewish civilians, “does not reflect Arab society, the Palestinian people and the Islamic nation.”
