ISIS materials found in teacher's home
ISIS materials found in teacher's homePolice Spokesperson's Unit

The Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet) and the Israel Police have arrested an Arab resident of Kalansawa, a town in central Israel, as he returned from Syria. He was nabbed at the border crossing on the Jordan River last month, and the matter was under a gag order until Monday.

The man, Yusef Nasrallah, confessed under interrogation that he went to Jordan last April and continued form there to Syria, in order to join one of the jihadist groups operating in the area. He hoped to be killed and die a martyrs death, out of the belief that he could thus once again be united with a close friend, who was killed in a traffic accident.

Nasrallah was arrested by Syrian security forces a few hours after crossing the border into Syria, however. He underwent numerous interrogations there, during which he was expected to give information about Israeli military installations.

He was tortured cruelly and reached Israel a few days after being released, in poor physical condition.

He then underwent a thorough physical examination before the ISA began to interrogate him.

The ISA noted that the Syrian theater is full of jihadist elements that are extremely hostile to Israel. Arab Israelis who go there are exposed to radical jihadist ideology and could be used by terrorists for gleaning information about Israel and for carrying out terrorist attacks against the Jewish state.

If they fall into the hands of Bashar Assad's forces, they run the risk of being tortured and accused of spying for Israel.

Nasrallah will be charged Monday in a Kfar Saba court.