Israeli sentenced to 18 months in prison for trying to join IS

An Arab Israeli man was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison after attempting to join the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, according to the Israeli Court Authority spokesperson.

Hamis Salame, 21 years old, with no previous criminal record and living in the central Israeli city of Ramle, was sentenced amid a plea bargain, after admitting to the charges against him.

He was sentenced by the Lod District Court magistrate after being found guilty on charges of attempting to travel to a hostile country and contacting a foreign agent, according to a court protocol provided by the Israeli Court Authority spokesperson.

Salame became interested in the IS during 2015, and started contacting a member of the organization in Syria through social media, according to the indictment.

He then traveled to Syria in July 2015, with the intention of crossing the border shortly thereafter into Syria. However, after his family reported him missing, he was arrested several days later in Turkey by local authorities and was banished to Israel, where he was arrested upon landing.

Israel's Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon announced that the IS is an "illegal organization" and the country has prosecuted dozens of Arab Israelis who allegedly tried to join the group and fight against the Syrian establishment.

Israeli authorities explained that there is a "concrete threat" that those who join the IS will use their "ideological and military training" to operate against Israel.

Arab Israelis are Palestinians who stayed in Israel after the 1948 War of Israeli Independence. They remained Israeli citizens, constituting 20 percent of the population, many of them with families in other Arab states.

(APD)