The deadly attack in Beer Sheva on March 22, in which four Israeli civilians were killed by a known and convicted ISIS supporter who was released from prison after only four years, demonstrated once again that the dangers of Salafi-jihadi terrorism do not bypass Israel.
Although even in its heyday enlistment among Arab citizens of Israel in the ranks of ISIS was relatively low and amounted to dozens of activists, there is support for the organization’s ideas, and individual activists, perhaps squads, are still willing to act on its behalf.
The case of Muhammad al-Qi’an, a resident of Hura from the Bedouin sector, who was previously convicted of membership in ISIS, with plans to join its ranks to fight in Syria, clearly proves this. At this stage it is not yet clear whether he acted in a covert manner alone, or whether, as is well known in many cases of individual terrorism, his plan involved secret partners and aides. The follow-up reports since his release reveal that he was living a moderate life on the surface.
Maintaining a low profile without activity on social networks or among secret partners makes it difficult to prevent an attack ahead of time and leaves the outcome to a quick response and containment to avoid more casualties. In the Beer Sheva case, the duration of the attack and the lack of a rapid counterterrorism response by the security forces led to the greater number of victims and left neutralization of the terrorist to armed civilians who confronted him and eventually shot him to death.
At this stage, the concrete motive for the terrorist's decision to act is not clear, but it does not appear that he was directly instructed by external ISIS members. So far, ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack, though it may be difficult for ISIS to forego the opportunity to support or even take credit for a successful operation. We can speculate that the recent appointment of a new caliph at ISIS, who has received widespread allegiance in recent weeks from some of his 24 delegations around the world, along with a call to resume retaliation activity for the former caliph’s death, and the approach of Ramadan, could have figured among al-Qi’an’s motives.
Beyond the painful reminder that the ISIS threat has not disappeared from the world, and not only in Israel, the statements of support voiced by local terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad in Palestine, and Hezbollah strengthen the assessment of the possibility of increased terrorist incidents during the particularly sensitive month of Ramadan.
It is clear that such organizations and terrorist operatives are trying to create a rift between the Jewish majority and the Arab minority in Israel, most of whom reject the use of violence and respect the law in their country. This is a challenge that requires strengthened cooperation among advocates of peace and coexistence, in order to prevent subversive separatists from the Arab and Israeli sectors from attaining what they attempt.
The deadly attack in Beer Sheva on March 22, in which four Israeli civilians were killed by a known and convicted ISIS supporter who was released from prison after only four years, demonstrated once again that the dangers of Salafi-jihadi terrorism do not bypass Israel.
Although even in its heyday enlistment among Arab citizens of Israel in the ranks of ISIS was relatively low and amounted to dozens of activists, there is support for the organization’s ideas, and individual activists, perhaps squads, are still willing to act on its behalf.
The case of Muhammad al-Qi’an, a resident of Hura from the Bedouin sector, who was previously convicted of membership in ISIS, with plans to join its ranks to fight in Syria, clearly proves this. At this stage it is not yet clear whether he acted in a covert manner alone, or whether, as is well known in many cases of individual terrorism, his plan involved secret partners and aides. The follow-up reports since his release reveal that he was living a moderate life on the surface.
Maintaining a low profile without activity on social networks or among secret partners makes it difficult to prevent an attack ahead of time and leaves the outcome to a quick response and containment to avoid more casualties. In the Beer Sheva case, the duration of the attack and the lack of a rapid counterterrorism response by the security forces led to the greater number of victims and left neutralization of the terrorist to armed civilians who confronted him and eventually shot him to death.
At this stage, the concrete motive for the terrorist's decision to act is not clear, but it does not appear that he was directly instructed by external ISIS members. So far, ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack, though it may be difficult for ISIS to forego the opportunity to support or even take credit for a successful operation. We can speculate that the recent appointment of a new caliph at ISIS, who has received widespread allegiance in recent weeks from some of his 24 delegations around the world, along with a call to resume retaliation activity for the former caliph’s death, and the approach of Ramadan, could have figured among al-Qi’an’s motives.
Beyond the painful reminder that the ISIS threat has not disappeared from the world, and not only in Israel, the statements of support voiced by local terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad in Palestine, and Hezbollah strengthen the assessment of the possibility of increased terrorist incidents during the particularly sensitive month of Ramadan.
It is clear that such organizations and terrorist operatives are trying to create a rift between the Jewish majority and the Arab minority in Israel, most of whom reject the use of violence and respect the law in their country. This is a challenge that requires strengthened cooperation among advocates of peace and coexistence, in order to prevent subversive separatists from the Arab and Israeli sectors from attaining what they attempt.