Photo Credit: Hillel Maeir/TPS
ares Saritah, indicted and sentenced for attempting to join ISIS in Syria. April 19, 2016

By Michael Zeff/TPS

Jerusalem (TPS) – A young Israeli Arab who attempted to join the Islamic State terror organisation was sentenced to a fifteen-month prison term on Tuesday.

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Fares Saritah, a 19-year-old resident of the Jerusalem neighborhood Kfar Akeb, pleaded guilty to the charges of “attempting to join an illegal organization and attempting to defect to an enemy state,” referring to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) and Syria, respectively.

In addition to the fifteen month prison term, Saritah was sentenced to a suspended prison term and a large fine.

“Based on the accused’s own plea and full admission I find him guilty of attempting to join an illegal organization,” said Judge Aharon Farkash in his sentencing.

The joint investigation by the ISA and Israel police revealed that Saritah allegedly convinced his two brothers to join the Islamic State as well, one of whom managed to leave Israel and join the terrorist group in Syria.

According to bill of indictment, in April 2015 Saritah left Israel with his brother and cousin and arrived in Istanbul planning to reach Syria through Turkey, a common pathway for radicalized Muslims attempting to join with the Islamic State.

However Saritah never got past the Istanbul airport, as his passport was expired. He then had to fly to Israel to fix his papers, where upon arrival he was snatched by the Israeli Security Agency (ISA).


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