Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) – The arrest of two Israeli Arabs charged with helping al Qaeda plan terror attacks in Israel is a sign that global jihadist groups are working step by step to take over the Middle East, a counter-terrorism expert here said.
Israel’s Shin Bet security service announced this week that it had arrested Taher Abu Sakut, 21, and Omar Abu Sakut, 22, residents of the southern Israeli Bedouin town of Rahat, on suspicion of having joined al Qaeda and of acting on the organization’s behalf to harm Israeli citizens and the state of Israel.
It is the first time that Israeli citizens have been accused of cooperating with al Qaeda.
The arrests demonstrate the “virtual” process al Qaeda is using to build an infrastructure in the Middle East, including in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and now Israel, said Eitan Azani, deputy director of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel.
The two suspects, who were described in local reports as cousins, were accused of membership in a terrorist organization, aiding the enemy in wartime and delivering information to the enemy in order to harm national security.
Taher allegedly began his involvement with extremist Islam two years ago. He began visiting Internet sites identified with al Qaeda and global jihad, which called for Israel’s destruction, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office said.
Through the Internet ties, Taher joined al Qaeda and transferred information to the group on strategic installations as well as crowded places that could be used as targets in future terror attacks. The sites included Israeli army bases, a skyscraper complex in Tel Aviv, and Israel’s international airport.
In addition, the suspects allegedly passed along information about places where terrorists could infiltrate Israel from the West Bank.
Taher also requested contact with fighters from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, in order to perpetrate an attack in Israel against the Jews, the statement said.
A lawyer for the family, Yusuf Nassasra, was quoted by Reuters as saying that at least one of the men had visited militant Web sites by accident but said that they had no intention of harming state security.
Majid Abu Sakut, Omar’s brother, told the Israel’s YNET Web site that the two men were innocent and described them as “just two kids who visited the wrong Web sites.”
Azani told Cybercast News Service that the arrest of the two Israelis proves that al Qaeda is acting on calls by deputy leader Ayman al Zawahiri and others to target Israel and illustrates how the group is building its network.
First the men were indoctrinated by al Qaeda by visiting radical Islamic Web sites. They were then recruited, Azani said.
Through the Internet, they could give information on possible attack sites and receive information on how to carry out attacks. In the past recruitment took place face to face but today it takes place by computer, he said.
In recent years, al-Qaeda-linked groups have carried out large-scale terror attacks in the Egyptian Sinai Desert, which borders Israel, and in Jordan. Last year, Fatah al-Islam, an al-Qaeda-linked group, fought running battles against the Lebanese army that left 170 soldiers and some 220 militants dead.
Both Israel and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas have expressed concerns that al Qaeda is trying to establish a presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Radical Islam has been working for years to build an international network. If the West wants to win the war against them, it will have to build a counter-network based on its own values with moderate Muslim leaders at the forefront, Azani said.