Shin Bet arrests Israeli Arab who tried to join ISIS in Syria

Umm El-Fahm man was radicalized on the Internet, tried to reach ISIS before being stopped by Turkish police and deported to Israel.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Updated: JUNE 30, 2016 00:07
ISIS militant threatening Israel in Hebrew (photo credit: YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT)
ISIS militant threatening Israel in Hebrew
(photo credit: YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT)
A resident of Umm el-Fahm who allegedly attempted to travel to Syria and join ISIS was arrested by Turkish authorities and returned to Israel on June 10, when the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) took him into custody.
Ibrahim Agbariya, 23, was detained upon arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport after being deported from Turkey.
During interrogation, the Shin Bet learned the suspect had spent recent months viewing videos and content produced by ISIS, and became enamored with its jihadist ideology. He then “decided to go to Syria to join combat in the ranks of the organization,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.
Agbariya gathered information on the Internet on how to get to Syria and took off for Istanbul in June, before flying on to the Turkish city of Gaziantep near the Syrian border. It was there that he was arrested by Turkish police, questioned, and deported to Israel.
Agbariya left a letter to his family explaining his intention to “join the jihad,” the Shin Bet said. “Some of the people he knew were aware of Agbariya’s intentions, and supported the idea,” the agency added.
The latest arrest underlines the risk posed by the phenomenon of Israeli Arabs traveling to the Syrian combat zone after being exposed to online propaganda, the Shin Bet said. Volunteers undergo military training and acquire knowledge that could later be used in terrorist attacks.
Agrabiya was charged by Haifa District prosecutors on Wednesday.