The State Attorney’s Office filed an indictment Wednesday in the Haifa Magistrate’s Court against Khamis Sawaed, a 30-year-old Bedouin resident of Hussniyya in the Galil, after he took steps to join the ISIS terrorist organization and fight in its ranks abroad.

According to the indictment, Sawaed, who served in the IDF from 2017 to 2019, began developing an interest in ISIS in 2023 and had been training in preparation to join the group and fight on its behalf abroad. As part of those preparations, he viewed instructional material on combat tactics, weapons use, and missile and drone production.

In 2024, Sawaed decided to travel to Syria or Africa and join the organization. In preparation, he watched content and lectures by senior ISIS figures and saved money for the trip.

In 2026, Sawaed downloaded instructional guides and watched videos on the production of missiles and drones and the use of weapons and military tactics, with the aim of advancing the organization’s activities.

Sawaed was arrested in recent weeks in a joint operation by the Northern District Police’s Galilee Central Unit and the Shin Bet.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)