Israeli Arab teacher claims to have joined Islamic State
Salah al-Din Mahamid from Umm al-Fahm, formerly arrested in Israel on suspicion of joining terror group, confirms: 'I am in the Islamist country with my son and wife who converted to Islam'.
An Israeli Arab teacher from Umm al-Fahm, Salah al-Din Mahamid, revealed on Friday photographs of himself allegedly in Syria, where he claims to have joined the Islamic State along with his wife, a Jewish woman who converted to Islam.
In 2014, Mahamid was arrested in Israel on suspicion of joining the terror group, but was later released.
Mahamid, who is in his 20s, shared photos online with his friends and acquaintances, where he is shown supposedly in training and dressed in clothes similar to those worn by members of the terror group. He also sent photos showing his son, who was born only recently, surrounded by weapons.
Mahamid also sent a message, where he wrote: " As salaam alaikum. My name is Abu al-Harit al-Maqdisi Salah al-Din Mahamid. I confirm that I am in the Islamist country with my wife who converted to Islam and joined me. Just last month, our son was born."
Mahamid further added that he and his wife first traveled to Iraq, but said they are now in Syria.
Just last year, Mahamid was arrested on suspicion of joining the Islamic State but the Hadera Magistrate's Court eventually decided to release him. Several months later, when he left Israel to travel abroad, police began to suspect he had joined the terror group.
Mahamid began working as a teacher in a school last summer, after he had married a Russian-Jewish immigrant who converted to Islam.
A number of Israeli Arabs have joined the Islamic State over the past two years. Some have returned to Israel and were imprisoned. Four Israeli Arabs who allegedly joined the terror group were killed in fighting, according to reports.
