Court hikes sentences of 2 men who tried to join IS

The Supreme Court on Monday accepted an appeal by state prosecutors to increase the sentences of two Arab Israeli men who tried to join the Islamic State group.

They were both arrested in 2016 and accused of planning to shoot IDF soldiers, the Shin Bet said at the time.

Bahaa Eldin Ziad Hasan Masarwa was convicted of contacting a foreign agent and supporting a terror organizations and originally sentenced last March to 46 months in prison with a 12-month suspended sentence. Ahmad Nabil Ahmad was convicted of conspiracy to commit a crime and given 22 months and a six-month suspended sentence.

After accepting the prosecutor’s appeal the court increased Masarwa’s sentence to 58 months in prison and that of Ahmad to 30 months.

Meanwhile Monday, three men, one of whom is already in prison for security offenses, were indicted on terror-related offenses including money laundering, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

The Northern District prosecutor’s office filed indictments at the Nazareth District Court against Ahmed Hassan, 25, a Hamas terror group operative who is already in prison for security offenses; Sa’ad Abu Varda, 26, a resident of the Gaza Strip who had been residing in Israel without a permit since 2011; and Ayman Salhav, 42, from Jerusalem.

All were accused of security offenses including contacting with a foreign agent, membership in a terror organization and money laundering.

According to court papers Varda would send money from his wages to his family in Gaza via various channels, even though he knew that transfers of upwards of NIS 12,000 ($3,400) from Israel to Gaza require official permission.

During October 2017, Hassan, a convicted member of Hamas who in 2009 began a 17-year sentence for security offenses, telephoned Salhav and instructed him to go to a meeting with Varda in Nazareth where he was to receive sums of money destined for transfer to the Gaza Strip.

Some of the money was intended to be paid as compensation to a former prisoner in Israel who was released as part of the 2011 prisoner exchange deal for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

Salhav attended the meeting and received NIS 48,500 ($13,690) from Varda. He was arrested shortly afterwards near Afula.

Prosecutors asked that Varda and Salhav be held until the end of proceedings.