Israel has arrested seven Arab citizens on suspicion of planning attacks against Jews and Christians that were inspired by the speeches of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, officials said Monday.According to documents released by the district court in Nazareth, northern Israel, three of the men were charged with the murder of a 54-year-old Jewish taxi driver and the attempted killing of another man. The suspects were arrested two months ago, but the news was blocked by a court gag order which was lifted on Monday. Police said six of the men were from Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel, and the seventh from a nearby village.
Regional police chief Aviv Elgrisi said the group was uncovered after two of its members went to east Africa, hoping to join Islamic militants there. "Two Nazareth residents travelled to Kenya with the intention of reaching Somalia and fighting alongside the Muslims against the infidel and the American enemy," Elgrisi told Israeli public radio. "These two aroused the suspicions of the security services in Kenya who sent them back here and informed our security service.
Elgrisi said Israel's Shin Bet internal security service arrested the men upon arrival and interrogated them, which led to the arrest of the five other suspects. "Their intention was to harm any non-Muslim," he said.
Court documents charge Ahmed Ali Ahmed, 21, with the fatal shooting last year of cab driver Yefim Weinstein and name Ghaleb Ghanaim, 25, and Haider Zaidana, 21, as accessories, accused of helping him flee the scene. The charge sheet also accuses members of the group of kidnapping and wounding a man from the Jewish suburb of Upper Nazareth and attempting to murder a Christian who they believed had cursed the prophet Mohammed. They also allegedly torched a Nazareth business owned by a Christian Arab.
The accused shouted "Long live Osama bin Laden" and "God is greatest" as they were led into the courtroom, according to the radio.
Members of the group were arraigned on different charges, including murder, kidnapping, assault and weapons offences. They were then remanded in custody for six weeks, with no trial date set.