Teen from northern Bedouin town charged with pledging allegiance to Islamic State

A teen from the northern Bedouin town of Shibli was set to be charged on Monday with membership in a terrorist organization, after he allegedly pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

Yaqoub Shibli, 19, was arrested on August 16, and his interrogators learned he “expressed identification with the Islamic State terrorist organization, including watching content about the terrorist organization and pledging allegiance to it,” police and the Shin Bet said Monday in a joint statement.

The Northern District Attorney’s Office is slated to indict Shibli on Monday at the Nazareth-Nof Hagalil Magistrate’s Court, the statement said.

It added that this is the fourth time in recent weeks that a resident of northern Israel faces an indictment for allegedly joining Islamic State.

“The Shin Bet and Israel Police act resolutely against any activity that endangers the security of the state and its citizens, and against any activity in which Israeli citizens seek to act against Israelis on behalf of a terrorist organization,” the security agencies said.

Last week, a former IDF soldier was charged with training to fight abroad with ISIS.

The Haifa District Attorney’s Office filed an indictment against Khamis Sawaed, a resident of the northern Bedouin village of Hussniyya in his 30s, at the city’s Magistrate’s Court along with a request to keep him in custody until the end of the legal proceedings.

Sawaed indicated during police interrogation that he had watched how-to videos on warfare and missile and drone production out of “identification with the Islamic State terror group,” according to the Shin Bet and police.

According to the indictment filed against Sawaed and cited in Hebrew-language media, he served in the IDF from 2017 to 2019, but in 2023 became interested in ISIS. He then began watching the training videos in 2024, after deciding he would eventually go abroad, either to Syria or somewhere in Africa, to fight alongside the group.

And late last month, two teenagers from the Galilee were also indicted for planning ISIS-inspired attacks against security forces.

The first suspect to be arrested, on August 4, was a 16-year-old resident of the Galilee.

An investigation revealed that he was searching online for instructions on how to prepare explosive belts, and that he “intended to carry out an attack against police officers and Jewish soldiers on the Temple Mount,” the statement alleged.

Several days later, as the investigation progressed, another suspect was arrested. He was identified as Ibrahim Kaabia, 19, a resident of Haifa. Kaabia also swore allegiance to ISIS and was planning to attack an army base in northern Israel,  police said.

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.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.