Israel says it has broken up an Islamic State cell in the occupied West Bank and charged seven Arabs with terrorism-related offenses.
The Israeli domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet said it arrested the suspects in November and December. But information about the case was kept under a gag order until an indictment was issued Sunday.
Authorities said the Israeli Arabs were plotting to carry out attacks in Israel and to target Druze Israelis, before eventually fighting in Syria. Shin Bet said the seven suspects had confessed to working together to form a "Salafi Jihadist" group and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
The security agency said members of the group ranged in age from 22 to 40 and was headed by a lawyer, Adnan Aladin, who referred to himself as the "Commander of ISIS in Palestine."
Shin Bet said the group practiced slaughtering animals to build up its nerve to fight in Syria and to train for "slaughtering infidels in Syria."
The seven face charges of joining a banned organization, aiding a terror group and contact with a foreign group.
