The five convicted individuals join a growing list of Israeli-Arabs attempting to join ISIS; Israeli-Arabs from all over Israel are signing up to join the group, with at least 50 known to be in Syria fighting on its behalf, and seven to have died in its ranks.
The Haifa District Court has sentenced five Israeli-Arabs from the Galilee to five years in prison for attempting to join ISIS.
The five individuals, four of whom are from the town of Sakhnin in northern Israel, were convicted of membership in an illegal organization, expressing solidarity with ISIS, and seeking to harm the State of Israel.
Those sentenced are: Karim abu-Salah, 22, who was sentenced to six years; Sharif abu-Salah, 30, who recieved three years; Haisam Marisat, 31, from Deir Hanna who was sentenced to four-and-a-half years; Mohammad abu-Salah, 29, who was sentenced to two-and-a half-years; and Fadi Bashir, 30, who was sentenced to three years.
According to the indictment, Karim abu-Salah arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport on July 20, 2014 in an attempt to enter Syria, but was stopped by the Shin Bet. He then continued to meet with his associates, discussing issues relating to the terror group and reflecting on why he had failed.
Abu-Salah and his associates would occasionally send ISIS videos to each other showing various activities performed by the terror group.