Missing Israeli Arab woman suspected of joining IS
Shfaram resident in her 40s reportedly flew to Turkey in order to join jihadist group in Syria
An Arab Israeli woman in her forties from the Galilee has gone missing and relatives suspect she may have gone to Syria to join the Islamic State.
According to a Saturday report in the Israeli Arabic language newspaper Al-Arab, the woman flew Thursday to Turkey, from where she could have crossed the border to Syria, a route by which prospective fighters go to join the jihadist group.
A family friend told the paper that nobody knew of her intention to join the jihadist group.
Her relatives called on Israel’s Foreign Ministry Saturday for help tracking her down, Channel 2 reported.
A Northern District police officer said the woman’s husband arrived at the police station on Friday with his lawyer to file a missing person’s complaint, but later withdrew it.
“Not everything that’s been published about this case is accurate,” the police official said. “We will soon know the full details of what happened with the woman.”
According to Walla news, however, the police and Shin Bet security agency said the family hadn’t approached them concerning the woman’s disappearance. The website reported that the family apparently learned of the woman’s plan from the Al-Arab newspaper report.
A source quoted in the paper said the woman disseminated Islamist propaganda but wasn’t seen as an extremist.
If the woman — whose name hasn’t yet been released for publication — has indeed gone to join the Islamic State, it would be the first known incident of an Israeli woman joining the jihadist organization.
It wouldn’t be the first instance of Israeli citizens going to join the radical Islamist group. Earlier this year security officials estimated that at least 35 Israeli Arabs left the country to join the group or to join other rebel groups in Syria.
In July, Hamza Magamzeh, an Israeli Arab from the Galilee, was sentenced to three years in prison for his intention to join Islamic State. The penalty was the heaviest yet for the crime of trying to join the IS terror organization.
Separately, Ramle resident Hamis Salameh was indicted for trying to join the group.
Earlier this month, an East Jerusalem man residing in the United States tried to join the terror group, but was stopped by Turkish authorities since his passport was expired.
In March, the Islamic State published a video of an execution of a person it said was an “Israeli spy.” The man, a resident of East Jerusalem, left last year to join the fighting in Syria.
A Twitter account affiliated with Islamic State said that the man was an agent for Mossad. His family in East Jerusalem denied the accusation, saying he joined the ranks on his own volition.