A court sentences an Arab citizen to 11 months in prison for travelling to fight alongside Syrian rebels.
Several Arab Israelis have been arrested after returning from Syria, where armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad is now dominated by jihadists, including the Islamic State group.
Yusef Nasrallah travelled via Jordan to Syria where his intention was to “die as a martyr alongside rebels” fighting Assad, the court said in its verdict.
But two days after reaching Syria, Nasrallah was arrested by the Assad regime and spent eight months in prison, where he was “tortured and interrogated.”
During that time, he passed on information about an Israeli military base, the court said, without elaborating.
Nasrallah was released and returned to Israel in December, where the Shin Bet domestic security service detained him.
Several Arab Israelis have been convicted for attempts to join the Syrian rebels.
— AFP
Is our work important to you?
Do you rely on The Times of Israel for accurate and insightful news on Israel and the Jewish world? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel eleven years ago - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this