Arab Israeli man convicted for joining Islamic State
Wissam Zabidat went with his family to Iraq, fought with terror group while his wife worked in an IS hospital
An Arab Israeli man was convicted Tuesday for involvement with the Islamic State terror group in Iraq.
The Haifa District Court found Wissam Zabidat, 42, from the northern Arab town of Sakhnin guilty of several charges, including membership in a terrorist organization, membership in an illegal group, illegal military training, and contact with a foreign agent.
Wissam and his 30-year-old wife had traveled to Iraq along with their three children and spent over a year with the jihadist group before eventually escaping and making their way back to Israel, the Shin Bet security service said in a statement in October, when charges were filed against the two.
While Wissam fought in the Islamic State’s ranks in Mosul, Sabrin Zabidat worked in one of the terror group’s area hospitals. Their three children, ages 3, 6 and 8, were placed in a local school.
The Shin Bet investigation into the couple discovered that they flew to Romania with their children to attend a family event in June 2015. From there, without the knowledge of their extended family, they continued on to Turkey where they made contact via Facebook with an Arab-Israeli from Umm al-Fahm who had joined IS in 2013.
With his assistance they contacted smugglers who took them across the border into Syria, where they met up with IS members. Their Israeli passports were immediately confiscated and they were taken to the Syrian city of Raqqa, considered the IS capital.
Wassim was separated from his family and sent to a camp in Iraq, where he was given lessons in religious studies and Islamic State ideology. He then took part in IS operations, guarding the group’s facilities near combat zones and participating in raids on Iraqi army posts. While fighting Wissam was wounded in the leg.
The family eventually reunited in Mosul, living in cramped, unsanitary conditions without running water or electricity. Their children did not receive any education for a long period and spent time with other children who were sick with infectious diseases.
By June 2016, the Zabidats decided to return to Israel. They contacted family members who paid thousands of dollars to smugglers and others to enable them to make it back.
After several abortive attempts to cross the border, they made it into Turkey, where they were arrested and put in a detention camp before they were transferred to Israel.
The couple were tried separately, and in March his wife Sabrin was sentenced to 50 months in prison.
Wissam’s mother, Fahimah, who attended the trial, said, “My son’s arrest has been very difficult for our emotional state. I don’t know what he went through and hope he will be released and return to the family. We are all waiting for him.”
Over the past few years, several Arab-Israelis have been jailed for trying to, and in some cases succeeding in, joining Islamic State.
Islamic State does not have widespread support in Israel, and the Shin Bet estimates that 50 Arab citizens of Israel have traveled to Syria or Iraq to join the group in recent years.
Jacob Magid, Stuart Winer and AP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.