Reports in Hebrew media point to alleged assailant Mohammad Ghaleb Abu al-Qi’an, 34, being a teacher from the town of Hura who served three years in prison for belonging to the Islamic State terror group and trying to recruit people to it. He was released in 2019.
In 2016, Abu al-Qi’an admitted to having established a secret group that would hold clandestine meetings related to the Islamic State, and to planning to leave Israel on the pretext of a pilgrimage to Mecca, but with the true goal of joining IS fighters in Syria.
An elementary school teacher, he would also give sermons to members of the community, including minors, promoting IS and asserting that the extremist group did not veer from Islam.
According to Haaretz, at his sentencing Abu al-Qi’an, at the time a father of five, told the judge that he regretted his actions and wanted to return to his family.
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Tuesday, March 22, 2022
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