Five Israeli Arabs Said to Sympathize With ISIS Barred From Leaving Israel for 6 Months

Five young Israeli Arabs who sympathized with Islamic State and were suspected of planning to join the group were barred from leaving Israel for six months, according to orders signed by Interior Minister Gilad Erdan.

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"I'll do everything I can to prevent citizens of the state from supporting and being part of terror organizations," the minister said.

Recently, Erdan has been refusing to issue a passport to Marhan Khaldi, a young Israeli Arab who went to fight in Iraq alongside ISIS, on the grounds that the applicant was involved in terrorism. There is also a chance his citizenship will be revoked.

Other Israeli Arabs who have gone to fight in Syria or Iraq have been issued new passports by the Israeli embassy in Turkey, and then arrested and tried upon their return to Israel. But in this case, when the man left Iraq and tried to get a passport at the Istanbul consulate, the consulate balked.

In late November, Erdan revoked the permanent residency of East Jerusalem resident Mohammed Nadi, the Palestinian driver who transported the suicide bomber who carried out the attack on the Dolphinarium club in Tel Aviv in 2001, killing 21 people.

Nadi was convicted of crimes including assisting homicide, assisting in causing severe bodily harm, and assisting illegal entry of a Palestinian. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.