Man charged with training to fight abroad with Islamic State

A resident of the northern Bedouin village of Hussniyya was charged this morning with training to fight abroad with Islamic State, police and the Shin Bet say.

The Haifa District Attorney’s Office filed the indictment against Khamis Sawaed at the city’s Magistrate’s Court along with a request to keep him in custody until the end of the legal proceedings, the security agencies say in a statement.

Sawaed, in his 30s, was arrested for interrogation “in recent weeks,” according to the statement.

His interrogation indicated he had watched how-to videos on warfare and missile and drone production out of “identification with the Islamic State terror group,” the statement says.

Dozens of Arab citizens have been arrested in recent years on suspicion of plotting attacks on behalf of Islamic State, including five residents of Taybe who allegedly plotted to set off a car bomb at Tel Aviv’s Azrieli mall in 2024.

Last week, the Shin Bet and police announced the indictment of two teenagers from the Galilee who were accused of researching explosives to attack Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount.