The Haifa District Attorney’s Office is expected to indict a 16-year-old Arab minor from the Galilee and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kaabia, a resident of Haifa, both Israeli citizens, on suspicion of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization and planning attacks against Jewish Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount and in northern Israel.
The minor was arrested on August 4 in a joint operation by the Shin Bet and the Northern District Police’s Central Unit. Investigators found that after allegedly pledging allegiance to ISIS, the 16-year-old teenager began watching and searching online for material containing instructions for constructing explosive belts. Authorities suspect that he intended to carry out an attack targeting Jewish police officers and soldiers at the Temple Mount.
Several days after the minor’s arrest, 19-year-old Kaabia was arrested on suspicion that he too had pledged allegiance to ISIS. Investigators allege that Kaabia was planning an attack on an IDF base in northern Israel. With the investigation concluded, the Haifa District Attorney’s Office is expected to file indictments against both suspects in Haifa District Court and request that they remain in custody until the conclusion of legal proceedings.