Israeli Arab indicted for assisting Hamas terror cell

[Gimel]

The Haifa District Court on Sunday indicted an Israeli Arab man on suspicion of gathering intelligence for Hamas.

The man, Zaher Ali, has been charged with contact with a foreign agent, assisting the enemy in a time of war, and planning attacks.

Ali, 31, was arrested by the Shin Bet and police last month. Details of the case were only released last week when the Acre Magistrate's Court lifted a gag order on the case.

Ali is originally from the Galilee village Kaukab Abu al-Hija, but has been living for several years in Jerusalem, teaching at a school in Beit Safafa and studying for a master's degree in mathematics at Hebrew University.

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Ali told Shin Bet interrogators that he gathered information for Hamas on several possible targets and also knew about the plan to hit Kafit. He said the original plan called for two suicide bombers to explode inside the cafe, and for a third suicide bomber to detonate his device once rescue forces arrived on the scene. In the end, one suicide bomber was dispatched because additional volunteers for the mission could not be found. Police reported that Nael Jaled of Jerusalem was the Hamas recruiter who enlisted Ali.

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