MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Israeli security forces arrested three Israeli Arabs, who are residents of the northern city of Umm al-Fahm, and are allegedly linked to Daesh, outlawed in Russia, and charged two of them with planning to carry out a shooting attack on Temple Mount in Jerusalem, media reported Thursday citing security services.
The suspects were arrested earlier in September during a joint operation of the Israeli Security Agency or Shin Bet and the Israel Police, the publication said.
"The image that became clear during the investigation showed us that a short while after the deadly attack in July 2017 on the Temple Mount, two Umm al-Fahm residents planned to carry out a similar attack on the compound," a senior Shin Bet official said as quoted by the publication.
According to the media outlet, the three were also planning to target Israeli security personnel and other non-Muslims and some reconnaissance surveys around the compound to choose a location for the attack have already been conducted.
Temple Mount, which is the third holiest site in Islam, was equipped with metal detectors and surveillance video cameras to monitor its territory after a deadly shooting at the site on July 14 that left two Israeli police officers dead. The measures led to violent clashes in Jerusalem and the West Bank and forced Palestine to suspend contacts with Israel over several Palestinian deaths.
