Police busts Arab Israeli terror cell planning attacks on IDF targets in south
Motive was revenge over the outlawing of the northern faction of the Islamic movement in Israel.
Shin Bet revealed on Tuesday the arrest of members of a terror cell in late November suspected of plotting attacks on Israeli soldiers in the southern region of Israel.
Members of the cell are all Israeli citizens that belong to Bedouin communities in southern Israel.
Investigators said their motive was revenge over the outlawing of the northern faction of the Islamic movement in Israel.
Two of the major suspects — Mohamed Mazri, 37, of Beer Sheva, who was already imprisoned in the past for a terror attack and Abdalla Abu Ayash, 26, of Kseifa — are detained by the Shin Bet.
The two had several other accomplices in plotting and arms trading, some of which had records of severe security related offences, according to the security service's press release.
The investigation is ongoing and indictments will be issued against Mazri and Abu Ayash. More arrests are expected, Shin Bet added.
In October, the Shin Bet announced it had uncovered a terrorist cell run by the Islamic State group in East Jerusalem planning attacks across Israel, including mass attacks and kidnappings.
In late September, members of a Gaza-based Islamic Jihad terror cell were arrested in the early stages of preparing a mass terror attack at a wedding hall in southern Israel.