Arab Israeli sentenced to 3 years in prison for attempting to join ISIS
The 36-year-old resident of Shfar'am was found to be in possession of pro-ISIS material and to have made contact with an ISIS recruiter on Facebook in the hopes of travelling to Syria to join the organization.
Abu Rubieh admitted to the charges of weapons possession and support for a terrorist organization in a confession. He further admitted that he received the pistol and three magazines from a family member, which he then hid in his home.
Due to fears of police searches, Abu Rubieh moved the gun between locations and even offered to sell it for NIS 42,000 at one point.
During a search of his computer, ISIS-support videos, websites, writings and images were discovered.
In February 2014, during a conversation on secure-messaging app Telegram, Abu Rubieh was chatting with a friend named Mahmoud Abu al-Fattah and sent him a picture of ISIS fighters with the caption, "I wish to be a martyr."
Abu Rubieh made contact with an ISIS recruiter on Facebook named Abu Turgeman al-Swariti and told his wife and mother that he planned to go to Syria and join ISIS.
After his arrest and subsequent interrogation, Abu Rubieh claimed that the charges of planning to join ISIS were merely a statement and that he never actually did anything. Police discovered the gun and ammunition during a search of his home, which Abu Rubieh claimed were merely part of another plan to sell ammunition because of a dire economic situation. He insisted he is not an arms dealer.
