4 East Jerusalem Palestinians held for Islamic State ties, prepping for ‘end of days’ war

Pistol and other military equipment found in henhouse at home of one of the suspects, all of whom are in their 20s and live in the Beit Safafa neighborhood, police and Shin Bet say

By Emanuel Fabian

You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

14 November 2025, 12:18 pm

Edit

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Investigators unearth a pistol at a henhouse at the home of one of four East Jerusalem Palestinians accused of ties to Islamic State, in footage published November 14, 2025. (Israel Police)

Four residents of East Jerusalem’s Beit Safafa neighborhood have been arrested and will be charged with affiliation to the Islamic State and planning attacks against Jewish Israelis as part of a “great war of the end of days,” the Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police announced Friday.

The four Palestinians, all in their 20s, were detained recently by police officers over suspicions they were affiliated with the Islamic State, according to the announcement.

The suspects began acquiring military equipment, with one managing to purchase a pistol, which was later seized from a henhouse in his home alongside other materiel, the Shin Bet said. The suspect was quoted as saying during his interrogation: “I will use the pistol against Jews or anyone who is not a Muslim.”

During their interrogations, the Shin Bet said, it emerged that the four suspects “support the ideology of the Islamic State, consumed large amounts of the organization’s content online, including gruesome materials and execution videos.”

“Influenced by the organization’s content, they planned to purchase military equipment, weapons, and arms to prepare for what they call ‘the great war of the end of days’ against Jews,” the agency said.

Indictments against two of the suspects are expected to be filed in the coming days, while the investigation of the other pair is ongoing, the agency said. All four are currently detained.

Illustrative: A symbol for the Islamic State terror group on a shirt worn by a terrorist who attacked security forces at the Qalandiya checkpoint, in the West Bank, December 7, 2024. (Israel Police)

Three other East Jerusalem Palestinians were arrested earlier this year for allegedly planning inspired attacks on Israeli troops at border checkpoints on behalf of the Islamic State, police and Shin Bet said in July.

Numerous Palestinian citizens of Israel have also been arrested on suspicion of planning attacks out of allegiance to the fanatic group that originated in Syria and Iraq. On Wednesday, police announced that a teenager from the Triangle, a cluster of Arab locales in central Israel, had been indicted a month after he was detained for plotting an Islamic State-inspired attack.

In October last year, the police and Shin Bet said they thwarted a plot by five Islamic State loyalists from the Triangle town of Taybeh who planned to car-bomb Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Mall.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.