Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Police operatives arrested three young Arab men from Lod in April and May of this year for conspiring to abduct and murder an IDF soldier in order to bargain for the release of Palestinian Authority security prisoners. The three planned to video the abducted soldier, murder him and hide his body, according to a statement issued by the Shin Bet.
All three terrorists-in-training, 20-year-old Amir Nafar (studying Sharia at a Jordanian university), 26-year-old Iman Kadura and 19-year-old Yassin Hinawi, hold Israeli citizenship and are members of the Islamic Movement.
According to the Shin Bet, during the Eid al-Adha holiday last December, Amir Nafar invited his co-conspirators to a secret and urgent meeting in the Great Mosque in Lod. "There, Nafar explained his support for the idea of jihad ("holy war" in Arabic) and said that it was every Muslim's duty to uphold the precept of jihad against the infidels. After Kadura and Hinawi expressed their support for jihad, Nafar proposed that they perpetrate the aforesaid abduction and murder. Kadura expressed his support and began to save money for the terrorist attack whereas Hinawi did not respond to the proposal.
"Their investigation shows that Nafar, Kadura and Hinawi are extremists who were heavily influenced by fanatic Islamic elements. They were familiar with the Islamic Movement led by Sheikh Raad Salah. Nafar went to study Sharia (Islamic law) in Jordan and was exposed to radical Islamic ideas and influences that likely spurred him into terrorist activity," said the statement.
The three were to be indicted Monday in the Petah Tikva District Court, with Nafar and Kadura to be charged with aiding the enemy in wartime and criminal conspiracy and Hinawi to be charged with failing to report a crime.
Afternoon Attacks on Israeli Roads
Palestinian Authority Arabs continued to attack Israelis throughout the country on Monday, primarily carried out by hurling rocks at motorists in Judea and Samaria.
PA Arabs attacked Israeli drivers and their passengers with stones on Monday afternoon as they passed near the Samarian village of Azoun. At least one vehicle was damaged, but no one was injured.
Attacks on Israeli drivers have increased in frequency and creativity; in the wee hours of Monday morning, an Israeli vehicle overturned after hitting a rock trap on the road near the Hawara checkpoint south of Shechem, also in Samaria.
Terror Attacks Continue at the Gaza Crossings
Terrorists in Gaza shot at workers near the Kissufim Crossing twice on Monday afternoon. Soldiers returned fire. No injuries were reported.
Earlier in the day, terrorists fired a mortar shell at the Nahal Oz fuel terminal. The shell landed harmlessly on the Gaza side of the crossing and no injuries were reported.
Shortly afterwards, terrorists fired on Israeli workers along the Gaza security barrier north of the Sufa Crossing, another conduit through which humanitarian supplies are delivered weekly to the region. None of the workers were injured in the attack.
Nahal Oz has been targeted repeatedly by Gaza terrorists in recent months. At least once, the terminal was attacked by Hamas operatives, who stole gas supplies stored at the depot by their own power authority for use by local residents.