Israeli security forces have arrested a Palestinian man with ties to the Islamic State terror group who was planning to carry out a terrorist attack in the near future, authorities announced Thursday.
The suspect attempted to evade capture and grab a Border Police officer’s weapon before being detained in the town of Beitunia, located near Ramallah.
He was transferred to the Israel Security Agency (ISA) for questioning.
Earlier this month, four Arabs from eastern Jerusalem who had sworn allegiance to ISIS, two of whom planned to attack a police station near the city’s Teddy Stadium, were indicted.
Jerusalem’s Central Police Unit and the ISA said three of the suspects, in their 20s, were arrested about a month ago. They had teamed up with a fourth man, in his 50s, who guided them and convinced them to go for terrorist training abroad, the security agencies said.
On March 4, Israeli security personnel arrested four Palestinians planning ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks against troops in Judea and Samaria.
On Jan. 22, security forces thwarted an ISIS-inspired attack that was to be carried out near the Knesset.
In December, security forces last month arrested two Palestinians planning ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks in Jerusalem. The two were influenced by ISIS content online and on Telegram, including graphic videos of killings around the world.
In January, ISIS spokesman Abu Huthaifa al-Ansari called on supporters around the world to attack Jews and avenge the killing by the Israel Defense Forces of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.