Two teens indicted for planning ISIS-inspired attacks on Temple Mount, security forces
Suspects from northern Israel; one also accused of researching explosive belts, lawyer for second argues exposure to ISIS material stemmed from ‘curiosity’
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Two Israeli males, one of whom is a minor, were to be indicted Friday morning over plans to attack security forces on behalf of the Islamic State group, the police and Shin Bet announced in a joint statement.
The first suspect, a 16-year-old resident of the Galilee, was arrested on August 4.
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 allegedly swore allegiance to ISIS and planned to attack an army base in northern Israel, police said.
Haifa district prosecutors will file the indictments against both suspects and request that their detentions be extended through the end of the legal proceedings, the statement said.
The statement did not specify what charges they would face.
בתום חקירה של ימ"ר צפון ושב"כ – כתבי אישום יוגשו נגד חשודים שנשבעו אמונים לדעאש ותכננו לפגוע בכוחות הביטחון בהר הבית ובבסיס צה"ל
בפעילות משולבת של שירות הביטחון הכללי והיחידה המרכזית במחוז צפון נעצר בתאריך 04/08/26 קטין בן 16, תושב הגליל, לאחר שעלה כי יצר קשר ונשבע אמונים לארגון…
— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) August 28, 2026
Kaabia’s attorney, Suhad Aga-Dahla, denied that he had planned an attack, describing him as a “young, normative man” who had excelled at school in Haifa, begun working in his family business and was expected to begin university studies in the coming year, according to a Ynet news report.
She said Kaabia’s family was shocked by the allegations and argued that his exposure to ISIS material stemmed from “the curiosity of a young man,” rather than any intention to harm the state. She described him as “a loyal citizen.”
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.
Earlier this month, a 20-year-old man from the southern Bedouin town of Segev Shalom was charged with plotting an ISIS-inspired car-bomb attack on a popular Beersheba nightclub.
Islamic State, which at one point ruled over large swaths of Iraq and Syria, in 2022 called on its supporters in Israel to carry out attacks.
The demand came after Israel moved to crack down on ISIS after six Israelis were killed in a pair of terror attacks in Beersheba and Hadera by Arab Israeli supporters of the jihadist group.
The Times of Israel Community.