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Last update - 23:34 28/08/2008
2 Israeli Arabs arrested over suspected Jihad plot to kill pilots, scientists
By Jack Khoury and Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: Shfaram, Israeli Arab, Israel 

Two Israeli Arabs from Shfaram have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to Islamic Jihad and planning attacks that included assassinating Israeli pilots, scientists and university professors.

The two, both university students, are also suspected of planning a shooting attack on an army checkpoint near Ramallah. The police and the Shin Bet security service believe that plan was relatively advanced. The assassination plans, in contrast, were still in their infancy.

The two suspects are Anis Sappori, 20, who studies communications at Bir Zeit University in Ramallah, and Hussam Khalil, 19, who studies electrical engineering in Jordan. Three Palestinians, all members of Islamic Jihad, have also been arrested in the case. The cell was uncovered thanks to intelligence tips.
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As part of their efforts to get their terrorist cell up and running, Sappori and Khalil tried to contact the head of Islamic Jihad in Damascus in order to obtain funding, police and Shin Bet officials said. When they were arrested, police found rifles in their possession, which they allegedly used to train for the planned checkpoint attack.

According to the police and Shin Bet, Sappori was the driving force behind the cell. Upon beginning his studies at Bir Zeit two years ago, they said, he first developed ties with members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, then with reporters working for Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station, and finally with the three Palestinian Islamic Jihad activists. He then recruited Khalil and assigned him the job of fund-raising.

Both men are expected to be indicted in the next few days. Khalil has confessed to his involvement in the alleged crimes.



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