4 Israeli-Arabs convicted of trying to join ISIS
Israeli-Arabs hailing from the town of Jaljulia were convicted on Monday of attempting to join ISIS; plans included entering Syria through Turkey, paragliding over border in Golan Heights.
Four residents of the Israeli-Arab town of Jaljulia who were planning to travel to Syria and join ISIS were convicted by the Lod district court on Monday.
The four either attempted to travel to Syria and failed or had a change of heart and didn't go through with the plan. An additional person was charged with assisting his friend in joining the terror group.
They planned on entering Syria either via Turkey or by using a hang glider to fly into ISIS held territory from the Golan Heights. Husam Hajlah, the one who attempted to fly over the border, was inspired by his friendwho previously succeeded in joining ISIS in this manner. ISIS affiliate Liwa Shuhada al-Yarmouk is in control of a large swath of Syrian territory on the border with Israel.
The six Jaljulia residents accused of attempting to join ISIS (Photo: Hassan Shaalan)
The four were each sentenced to jail terms ranging between 10 months to three years. A fifth person's sentence has yet to be decided, and a sixth person has yet to be sentenced.
The Center Prosecutor's Office filed the initial indictments in November of 2015 against Husam Hajlah, 27; Ihab Hajla, 22; Anes Hajlah, 19; Mohammed Oudeh, 29; Adnan Inash, 21; and Mohammed Zajti, 23. All of them are from the Israeli-Arab village of Jaljulia which is located close to Kfar Saba.
According to the initial indictment, three of those convicted would go to meet with a man named Nidal Salah to inquire and learn about joining ISIS. They met in the middle of the night once a week every week between July and October 2015.
Arab-Israelis from Jaljulia attempted to join ISIS in Syria (Photo: Hassan Shaalan)
The Jaljulia residents planned to travel from Israel to Syria to join up and fight with ISIS against the Syrian regime. Ihab Hajlah was the only one who didn't plan to actively travel to Syria.
The plan was for several of the accused to fly to Turkey and enter Syria from there while Husam would fly over the Israel-Syria border in a hang glider and land in ISIS controlled territory on the other side. Two other suspects, Anes Hajlah and Mohammed Oudeh did succeed in flying to Turkey, but were unable to cross the border. They have yet to be sentenced
Husam began to learn how to fly a paraglider, but he failed due to technical issues, and gave up.
They were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, contacting a foreign agent, attempt to illegally leave the country, and providing assistance to those attempting to illegally leave the country, amongst other crimes
The sentences for those convicted are considered to have begun from the day they were arrested.
