Israeli security forces deploy as Palestinian Muslims gather for Friday prayer in east Jerusalem on Dec. 29, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the militant Hamas group in Gaza. (Credit: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP)
Israel's police said Thursday they had arrested two Palestinian supporters of the Islamic State group who had plans to carry out "terrorist attacks" targeting the country's security forces.
The two residents of East Jerusalem had planned to prepare explosive devices aimed at targeting security forces, the force said in a statement.
"The two terrorists supported the ideology of the Islamic State group and consumed content through the internet and Telegram, including videos of killings carried out by the group abroad," the statement said.
"Influenced by the content of the organization, the two planned to carry out terrorist attacks against police officers and border police force."
Arrests of Islamic State adherents are relatively rare in Israel, with other Islamist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad having a far bigger presence in the country.
In March 2022, two residents of an Arab town in northern Israel were identified by Israeli intelligence as IS operatives who killed two police officers.
That shooting was preceded by an attack in southern Israel, where four people were killed in a stabbing and car-ramming rampage by an Israeli Arab previously imprisoned for trying to join IS in Syria.
Israel's police said Thursday they had arrested two Palestinian supporters of the Islamic State group who had plans to carry out "terrorist attacks" targeting the country's security forces.
The two residents of East Jerusalem had planned to prepare explosive devices aimed at targeting security forces, the force said in a statement.
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