Arab Israeli gang plotted kidnaps, attacks during Gaza operation

       Seven Israeli Arabs and two juveniles were arraigned at Haifa district court Thursday, April 30, on charges of plotting terrorist attacks and kidnapping Israeli soldiers during Israel's Gaza operation four months ago. They all hailed from Bertaa in the Wadi Ara district of central Israel, except for one who lived in Maghar in Galilee. The juveniles' names were not released. Nine bombs ready for detonation were found in their homes and manuals on bomb-making and abduction techniques. The suspects had been practicing those tactics and were apprehended shortly before they went into action. The defendants were charged with aiding the enemy in time of war, communicating with foreign agents, namely Palestinian West Bank terrorist organizations, possession of means of war and producing weapons. A shadowy group calling itself the "Galilee Freedom Fighters" claimed Thursday that seven Israeli Arabs who have been arrested on terrorism charges were its operatives.
"We announce with pride and honor that these brothers are members of the Galilee Freedom Fighters and its various branches," stated an email sent to Haaretz stated. In recent years, Israeli Arabs and Israeli identity card-carrying Palestinians in East Jerusalem have become increasingly involved in terrorist acts against various targets in the country. Over the course of the last five years, there have been at least six documented instances of attacks committed by Israeli Arabs or East Jerusalem residents. Some of these attacks were claimed by the Galilee Freedom Fighters, although most of the assailants acted on their own volition and were not assisted by any organizational structure. Officials in the security establishment believe most of the attacks were perpetrated by lone assailants, a fact which made it more difficult for the police and the army to gain information that would enable them to preemptively thwart the attack. (21,21)