January 22, 2024 | Flash Brief

Palestinian-ISIS Attacks in Jerusalem Foiled

January 22, 2024 | Flash Brief

Palestinian-ISIS Attacks in Jerusalem Foiled

Latest Developments

Israeli police went public on January 22 with the filing of terrorism charges against two residents of eastern Jerusalem who had sworn allegiance to Islamic State. The suspects were allegedly trying to build bombs for use against security forces and civilians in the Israeli capital. Israel arrested the two suspects on December 26.

On January 11, the Shin Bet and police published news of the arrest of two other Jerusalem Palestinians on similar charges of planning to carry out an attack on behalf of Islamic State. They were also indicted in a Jerusalem court.

A Palestinian devotee of Islamic State from eastern Jerusalem confessed to a November 2022 bus stop bombing that killed two Israelis. Three years earlier, Israel arrested an avowed Islamic State member for stabbing an elderly couple in their home in the capital.

Expert Analysis

“As Israel battles Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, it has been equally vigilant against Palestinian terrorism in Jerusalem, where civilian targets are especially accessible. Given extensive security in the capital, Islamic State has a special allure, since the group encourages self-radicalizing and the use of improvised weaponry. This is yet another example of the threats Israel faces internally and on its borders from Palestinian terrorists.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“Radical Islamism poses a threat to civilization, whether the source is the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, or ISIS. The uptick in ISIS-inspired terrorism in Israel serves as a reminder that all of these terror regimes share the same goal of establishing a caliphate, subjugating Western civilization, and destroying the Jewish state.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“U.S. military captures ISIS official in helicopter raid in Syria,” by Bill Roggio

“Israel May Tread Carefully With a Two-Front War Threat,” by Seth J. Frantzman

“Netanyahu Outlines Five Goals of Counterattack on Hamas,” FDD Flash Brief

Issues:

Israel Israel at War