Five terrorists from Taiba were arrested on suspicion of forming a terrorist cell whose goal, among other things, was to carry out an attack on the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv - using a car bomb, as part of the activities of the ISIS organization.
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The security affair began with the arrest of the infrastructure leaders - Mahmoud Azzam and Ibrahim Shaikh Yusuf, residents of Taiba, who had enlisted in ISIS.
As the joint investigation by the police and Shin Bet developed, it emerged that the two were planning to go to ISIS's battlefield abroad and had contacts with foreign ISIS elements. It was also revealed that they recruited three additional Taiba residents - Sajid Mazarwa, Abdullah Baransi and Abdel Karim Baransi - to the infrastructure for the purpose of promoting terrorist activity in Israel.
After collecting the evidence, the Gideonim unit at Lahav 433, together with police officers from the Taiba station, arrested the five suspects, and various weapons were seized from their possession.
Their investigation revealed that the suspects had watched videos online of bomb attacks in Syria and discussed the amount of explosives needed to bring down the Azrieli Towers. Police say that "the infrastructure was exposed and thwarted in the initial stages of its implementation.".
The Shin Bet and the police emphasize: "This is an unusual and dangerous organization of Israeli citizens, who joined together to promote serious security activity against the State of Israel and its citizens in the name of ISIS ideology. The infrastructure's plan was foiled by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police following precise and effective intelligence activity.".
Central Security Operations Command Chief Superintendent Yair Hetzroni: "This is a serious security incident, and thanks to a combined and professional investigation by the police and the Shin Bet, we prevented a major disaster and saved lives. We view with extreme seriousness any intention by elements with an extremist ideology to promote security activity, and therefore, we will continue to act resolutely in accordance with the authority granted to us by law and take full force with the means at our disposal, in order to thwart in advance any intentions to harm the security of the State of Israel and its citizens.".
In accordance with the evidentiary infrastructure that emerged during the investigation, a prosecutor's statement was filed in court against the suspects, and in the coming days a serious indictment will be filed against them on suspicion of security offenses.
