Four Israeli Arabs from east Jerusalem and two from Nazareth have been indicted for allegedly setting up an Al-Qaida cell in the capital and offering their services to Global Jihad elements, security officials announced Friday. One of the suspects allegedly made contact with those elements in an attempt to assassinate US President George W. Bush during his visit to Israel in May. The group, arrested in a joint Shin Bet-Israel Police investigation, includes two Hebrew University students, one of whom lived in the university dormitories with a view of a helicopter landing pad. Using a camera, the student filmed helicopters taking off and landing and made contact via the Internet with Al-Qaida elements to discuss bombing one of Bush's helicopters on his visit for Israeli Independence Day.
The six were identified as, Ibrahim Na'ashaf, 22, from Taiba - a physics and computer science student at Hebrew University; Muhammad Najam, 24, from Nazareth - a chemistry student at the university; Yousef Sumarin, 21, from Beit Hanina; Anas Shwayke, 21, from Jebl Mukaber; Kamal Abu Kweidar, 22, from Jerusalem's Old City; and Ahmad Shwayke, 21, from Shuafat.
According to security officials, the six created a closed religious terror cell and contacted different Al-Qaida and Global Jihad elements over the Internet. They were also active in the Temple Mount's Al-Aksa Mosque as well as throughout east Jerusalem. Investigators found bomb-making instructions on the personal computers of several of the suspects.
On June 9, two Israeli Beduin from the Negev town of Rahat were charged with plotting terrorist attacks via the Internet with al-Qaida members overseas and marking out civilian and military sites as targets. Officials said Friday that the latest indictments were further indication of an Al-Qaida presence in Israel.