An 18-year-old from Acre was indicted Tuesday for planning a bombing attack against soldiers at a bus stop in the city, allegedly inspired by Islamic State.
According to the indictment filed in the Haifa District Court, Issa Madi downloaded dozens of “terror guides, including tutorials for producing explosives and bombs.” While staying in an apartment in Eilat, he reportedly manufactured explosives using directions from a video he received on Telegram. He was recently arrested by the Shin Bet security service. Prosecutors said it was “a miracle” he was stopped before carrying out the attack.
Family background
Madi’s family is well known to Israeli security and police officials. His uncle, Sheikh Mohammed Madi—a senior figure in the outlawed northern branch of the Islamic Movement—was arrested in 2022 for suspected incitement and support for terrorism, particularly during the May 2021 fighting in Gaza and riots in mixed Israeli cities.
At the time, Sheikh Madi was deputy principal of an elementary school and imam of the Al-Raml Mosque in Acre’s Old City. His arrest drew protests from hundreds of locals.
In sermons after the 2021 unrest, Madi reportedly referred to those jailed for attacks on Jews as “our youth who are fighting the enemy that seeks to divide us.” On Facebook, he wrote that the “collapse of the Zionist entity is near” and described the Acre riots as “youth demonstrations affirming their right to defend Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.” He praised the attackers and even shared phone numbers of lawyers offering legal help.
In another sermon, he urged Acre’s Arab residents to take to the streets in protest and not fear arrest. “In recent days, many inside our cities in internal Palestine are afraid of the future. They sit at home and do not demonstrate for their rights out of solidarity with their brothers in Gaza. Everyone fears arrests. Listen well: we must not fear when Allah is our protector,” he said.
Another relative, Zakaria Madi, was convicted of serious security offenses for his role in the Acre riots during the same unrest. He admitted throwing stones at police, then later looting and vandalizing a Jewish-owned spice shop. He was initially sentenced to 14 months in prison, but after a prosecution appeal, the sentence was increased to 24 months.
Dozens of bomb-making tutorials
According to the indictment, Madi first expressed support for Hamas in 2019, when he was just 12 years old. By February this year, he had shifted toward ISIS, developing ideological identification with the group’s terror operations. From late March, he downloaded at least 47 guides for carrying out attacks—including bomb-making tutorials—through Telegram, while also watching and sharing execution videos with friends.
In recent weeks, he allegedly produced explosives for use in a bomb but later flushed the materials down a toilet, fearing being discovered. In August, when police came to his home, he tried to destroy evidence by discarding his cellphone.
Prosecutors say Madi planned to attack soldiers at a bus stop near Acre’s train station using a remotely detonated bomb, motivated by nationalist and ideological reasons. The indictment details how he followed Telegram and TikTok accounts linked to ISIS operatives, including one user called “fullan1995,” and later moved conversations to encrypted platforms. He reportedly sent instructional videos on explosives and urged the contact to learn bomb-making to assist ISIS.
The indictment charges him with preparing an aggravated terrorist act of murder, contact with a foreign agent and additional offenses. Prosecutors told the court that “only by miracle was he arrested at this stage, before carrying out his plan, preventing what could have been a deadly attack.”
During questioning, Madi admitted to planning the attack, listing the materials he intended to use and identifying the target site. He later recanted, claiming he fabricated the story, though he admitted consuming ISIS propaganda “out of curiosity” and acknowledged sending bomb-making tutorials to the suspected ISIS contact. He also confessed to possessing 47 manuals and reading several of them.
Acre city officials issued a statement praising security forces for foiling the attack: “The municipality expresses deep appreciation for their determined action, which prevented a disaster. We will not allow extremist events to undermine the delicate fabric we have built here together. We stand behind the security forces and will continue working with law enforcement to ensure the safety of our residents.”