Two Israelis and three Palestinians were charged Thursday for their involvement in a "terror cell" operated by a person living in Jordan and working under Iranian instructions, Israel's security agency, Shin Bet, said.
Among other things, the five individuals are suspected of trying to gather intelligence on National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, receiving instructions to assassinate former Knesset member Yehuda Glick and smuggling weapons, Israeli authorities said.
Ben-Gvir heads the far-right Jewish Power party and has provoked condemnation by the Arab world for visiting the Temple Mount while a minister. Glick, who represented Likud in the Knesset, became well known for advocating for Jews to have the right to ascend the Temple Mount. He has been repeatedly arrested for violating the regulation prohibiting Jews from praying aloud at the site.
The Haifa district attorney’s office filed charges against the two Israeli nationals: 23-year-old Hamad Hammadi from Nazareth and 18-year-old Yosef Hamad from the village of Muqeible. Hammadi was indicted for contact with a foreign agent, arson and assisting an illegal resident (a term usually used to designate Palestinians entering Israel without a permit). Hamad was indicted for arson.
