Israel: 3 Nazareth Men With Links To Global Jihad Charged With Cabbie's Murder

The internet aided in their radicalization.

YNet

According to suspicions, a terror cell consisting of seven Nazareth residents operated in Israel on behalf of global jihad, it was cleared for publication Monday after the men were indicted.

In what the Shin Bet and Amakim Police call one of the most severe security-related affairs in north Israel in recent years, seven young Muslim men who were inspired by extremist Islamist ideology operated in the region and even tried to join a terror network with links to al-Qaeda.[Al Shabaab..ed]

Among the crimes attributed to three of the cell members is the murder of 54-year-old taxi driver Yefim Weinstein in November 2009. Weinstein, from Upper Nazareth, was found dead near Kibbutz Kfar HaHoresh.

Three of the cell members - Ahmed Ali Ahmed (21), Haider Zaidana (26) and Raleb Ganayim (22) were indicted for the murder on Monday. The three Muslims became more radical over the past few years after being exposed to online video clips posted by Osama bin Laden and his followers, which also helped them obtain knowledge on the use of weapons and explosives.

The were charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, assault, Molotov cocktail attacks, weapons manufacturing and arms trade and a host of other criminal offences, including kidnapping and armed robbery.

Police say the men have admitted to the crimes, reenacted some of them and led investigators to their arms caches.

The investigation led to the arrest of four other Arab-Israeli residents who were charged mostly with weapons offences and belonging to an illegal organization. The men were named as Asim Muhhamad Alan (23), Abed al-Rahman Izz al-Din Abu Salim (19) and Udei Mahmoud Azzam (23) – all from Nazareth. Another suspect, Omar Ali Kahili (22), resides in the nearby village Umm el-Ganem.

Avenge murder of Arabs

Commander Avi Elgrisi, head of the Amakim Police's Central Unit, said that in November 2009 the three main suspects conspired to murder a Jew in order to become "heroes" and to avenge what they referred to as the "killing of Arabs at the hands of Jews."

Besides the evil Jews they also didn't like the evil Christians

The suspects' interrogation revealed a series of crimes against Christians as well. Zaidana and Ganayim were charged, among other things, with torching tourist buses that had been rented out by Christian pilgrims. They also plotted to murder a Christian resident of Nazareth because he had "cursed the prophet."

According to Commander Elgrisi, the suspects planned to videotape the man's decapitation, but changed the plan and decided that they would kidnap him to the woods and bury him there.

"At some point they became apprehensive and did not carry out their plan," said the police official.

Teh interweb serves as a smorgasbord for jihadi. Beheading videos, check. Weapons training, check. Sermons/speeches by radical Sheiks/Imams, check. Propaganda videos by AlQaeda, AlShabaab, etc galore, especially on JihadTube. Social networking sites such as Facebook is also a favorite for the jihadi.

Cross posted at the Jawa Report