JERUSALEM, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Two Arab citizens of Israel were indicted Thursday for planning to carry out a shooting attack in East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, said Israel's Shin Bet security service.
The Shin Bet identified them as Said Gasub Mahmoud Jabarin, 26, and a 16-year-old minor, whose name was not disclosed. They are both residents of Umm al-Fahm, an Arab city in central Israel, from which three gunmen killed two Israeli policemen on July 14 outside the Al-Aqsa compound.
The two suspects had obtained weapons for the attack and they were supporters of the Islamic State (IS), according to the Shin Bet.
"They turned in two pistols and ammunition that were to use in the attack," the statement read, "the two support the murderous ideology of IS, which was the background to their planned attack."
Together with them, the security forces arrested Faris Salah Mahmoud Mahajna, who was identified as an IS supporter. He was accused of illegal possession of weapons.
A senior security official, who spoke on terms of anonymity, said that Jabarin and the other teenager wanted to copycat the deadly July attack.
In the wake of the attack, Israel installed metal detectors at the gates of the flashpoint compound, triggering clashes between worshipers and Israeli police during which at least two Palestinians died. Following pressures by the Palestinians and Arab countries, Israel removed the detectors.
Over the past years, dozens of Arab citizens of Israel were arrested for supporting the IS. "The Shin Bet views Israelis who support the terrorist Islamic State organization, especially those who are in contact with its operatives and who work on its behalf inside the State of Israel, as a serious security threat," the official said.
"The Shin Bet will continue to take determined action and use the necessary enforcement measures to prevent the dissemination of the Islamic State ideology in Israel and to thwart any activity that harms the security of the state," he added.
