Isis terror cell indicted in Israel discovered allegedly slaughtering animals

Israeli internal security force Shin Bet arrested the men between November and December of last year

Israel’s internal security forces have indicted seven men who they allege had sworn allegiance to Isis and had been preparing for an attack by beheading animals.

Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security force, arrested the seven men from the northern Galilee region in in November and December last year.

All were indicted on several counts, including membership of the extremist terror organisation Isis, also known as the Islamic State, after their arrest.

If true, the defendants are the first Isis members discovered in Israel.

In the course of their training, during which the seven Israeli Arab men would reportedly convene regularly for religious lessons, Shin Bet alleges they executed animals in order to build up their nerve for “slaughtering infidels in Syria,” according to the wording of the indictment.

The alleged central member of the cell has been named as Adnan Aladin, a 40-year-old lawyer from Nazareth, who – Shin Bet claim – called himself a “senior and official IS officer in Palestine.”

The other men are named as Hasam Marisat, 30, a former security prisoner from Deir Hanna; Karim Abu-Tzalah, 22; Alaa Abu-Tzalah, 27; Halad Abu Tzahalh, 30; Sarif Khaled Abu-Tzalah, 29; and Muhammad Abu Tazalah, 27.

All the men have allegedly admitted to belonging to the terror organisation, and claimed they were part of a plot intending to attack Druze Israelis – a branch of Shia Islam – in addition to security services and police.

The defendants face charges of membership of a banned group, aiding a terrorist group and attempting contact with a foreign agent for their alleged plot to set up a branch of Isis in Israel and eventually fight in Syria.