Israeli Security Thwarts Temple Mount Attack, Arrests ISIS Cell

JERUSALEM, Israel – The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Israel Police arrested three Israeli Arabs planning a terror attack on the Temple Mount modeled after last July's shooting that killed two border policemen and injured a third.

The information, cleared for publication Thursday, said the three suspects were followers of Islamic State and residents of Umm al-Fahm, the northern Israeli Arab town that was home to the terrorists who carried out the July attack.

The report names Said Gasub Mahmoud Jabarin, 26, Faris Salah Mahmoud Majajna, 24, and a 16-year-old minor whose name was withheld, saying they turned over two pistols, ammunition and a homemade Carl Gustav automatic rifle.

Following their arrest and interrogation, Israeli security forces detained several other Umm al-Fahm residents suspected of trafficking in "war materiel."

"The attack was thwarted thanks to precise ISA intelligence, which enabled the timely arrest of the members of the cell," the Shin Bet said in a statement.
"The ISA views Israelis who support the terrorist Islamic State organization, especially those who are in contact with its operatives and who work on its behalf inside the State of Israel, as a serious security threat."

The statement further noted that despite "the seemingly positive picture" ISIS tries to present to potential recruits, mainly via the Internet, followers of the terror group, especially those in combat zones, "are in constant mortal danger even as they deal with very harsh living conditions."

The terrorists who carried out last summer's attack stored their weapons in the al-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount, possibly with the help of an official from the Muslim Wakf.