A 19-year-old Arab-Israeli, who served as a volunteer firefighter, has been arrested and charged with using his access to a sensitive site related to an Israeli tech firm to plan a terrorist attack.
Mustafa Issa, from Kafr Qasim, was arrested in recent weeks following a joint investigation by the Shin Bet and Israel Police, the agencies confirmed in a statement.
According to investigators, Issa searched for military and bomb-making instructions, downloaded material explaining how to make explosive devices and made attempts to construct them himself.
The Shin Bet and police said the investigation uncovered evidence that he had progressed from seeking information about combat and explosives to attempting to put what he had learned into practice.
Police said training equipment and airsoft weapons were found when he was arrested.
Authorities claim Issa was in contact with both Hamas operatives and an individual linked to Iranian intelligence and that he sought to establish a terrorist cell by attempting to recruit two acquaintances from Kafr Qasim.
The two men were detained during the investigation but, according to reports, investigators declined to charge them due to a lack of evidence.
The case has raised particular concern because of Issa's position as a national-service volunteer with Israel's Fire and Rescue Service.
According to the police, his work gave him access to strategic sites in central Israel and allowed him to become familiar with locations that could potentially be targeted. Israeli media reports allege that he identified at least one such facility as a preferred target.
Channel 12 reported that the site was a server farm connected to the Israeli technology company Amdocs. That detail has not been included in the initial joint announcement from the police and Shin Bet, which referred more generally to a sensitive strategic facility.
The authorities said Issa was heavily influenced by both the October 7 attack and the violence that erupted in mixed cities with large Arab populations in 2021, known in Israel as Operation Guardian of the Walls.
The Shin Bet and police said they regarded any involvement by Israeli citizens in activity threatening national security with the utmost seriousness and would continue to act against those suspected of assisting terrorist organisations.
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