Ex-IDF Soldier Charged With Planning to Join ISIS

An indictment was filed in the Haifa Magistrate's Court against Khamis Suaed, a 39-year-old resident of the village of Hoseniya in the Galilee, for offenses related to training for terrorism. A joint statement from the Israel Police and the Shin Bet revealed that Suaed, who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) between 2017 and 2019, developed a deep ideological identification with the terrorist organization ISIS in recent years and acted to prepare himself to join its ranks.

According to the indictment, filed by prosecutor Segev Adler, Suaed decided in 2024 to travel to Syria or Africa to fight for the Islamic State. To realize his plan, he saved money and began watching online lessons and tutorials from senior ISIS figures. Throughout 2026, he continued to download guides and watch videos on combat, weapons use, and the production of missiles and drones for terrorist purposes, until his arrest last August.

Following his investigation by the Shin Bet and police, the prosecution requested that the court order his detention until the completion of legal proceedings against him.