Shin Bet: Five Shagev Shalom residents planned to establish 'military battalion' and carry out attacks

Shin Bet announced today that approximately 50 indictments were filed this year against Negev residents who endangered state security, and among the suspects are five residents of Shagev Shalom who planned to establish a 'military battalion' and carry out attacks inspired by military battalions in Judea and Samaria.

According to the announcement, the five planned to advance terrorism through the battalion. The indictments were filed with the district court in Beersheba and attribute to them 'serious terrorism offenses.'

According to Shin Bet, one of the five suspects learned to manufacture explosives using videos, and another member of the cell agreed to serve as an 'engineer' and prepare explosives against security forces. The head of the cell, according to the announcement, incited against the State of Israel on his social media accounts, thereby encouraging terrorism activity, and another member planned to carry out an attack independently and in his interrogation it emerged that he supports the ISIS organization.

One of the suspects is Abdullah Jarjaawi, a resident of Shagev Shalom who was arrested for interrogation in July. According to Shin Bet, his interrogation revealed that he incited to terrorism and planned to carry out an attack at the 'Forum' nightclub in Beersheba, was in contact with ISIS operatives, expressed intention to go to the organization's combat zones abroad, and identified with various terrorism organizations, including ISIS and Hamas.

A Shin Bet source said the indictments 'illustrate the security risk posed by the formation of cells by Israelis, some of them semi-military, seeking to advance terrorism attacks in Israeli territory.' It was also stated that 'Shin Bet and Israel Police's preventive activity thwarted the implementation of their intentions to carry out serious and dangerous terrorism activity.'