Morocco Arrests 5 Sympathizers of ISIS

Members of Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) deploy outside a house in the southern city of Errachidia, on September 14, 2021. (AFP)
Members of Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) deploy outside a house in the southern city of Errachidia, on September 14, 2021. (AFP)
TT

Morocco Arrests 5 Sympathizers of ISIS

Members of Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) deploy outside a house in the southern city of Errachidia, on September 14, 2021. (AFP)
Members of Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) deploy outside a house in the southern city of Errachidia, on September 14, 2021. (AFP)

Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) services have arrested five sympathizers of the terrorist ISIS group for their alleged involvement in planning individual or collective plots to seriously undermine public order.

The arrests, which took place on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, were carried out on the basis of accurate information provided by the Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), said a statement released by the BCIJ.

BCIJ special forces have initiated their intervention in separate operations targeting the five suspects, aged between 20 and 45 years, in Douar Habata Benmansour in the province of Kenitra, Sidi Yahya Zaer, Dchira in Inzegane Ait Melloul, Bouaboud in Chichaoua and Casablanca, specified the same source.

According to the investigation's preliminary data, each of these suspects had pledged his "allegiance" to ISIS and prepared terrorist plots against vital services in Morocco, using explosive material, or targeting security institutions as part of "individual terrorism" operations.

The probe also revealed that some of the suspects were receiving training in the manufacture of explosive devices, the statement indicated.

Security services seized a shotgun and ammunition at the place of residence of the suspect arrested in Kenitra, in addition to weapons.

The five individuals were placed in custody for further questioning by the BCIJ to shed more light on all terrorist plots and identify potential connections to terrorist organizations abroad.



Israeli Defense Minister Says He Will End Detention without Charge of Jewish Settlers

Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Israeli Defense Minister Says He Will End Detention without Charge of Jewish Settlers

Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel’s new defense minister said Friday that he would stop issuing warrants to arrest West Bank settlers or hold them without charge or trial — a largely symbolic move that rights groups said risks emboldening settler violence in the Israeli-occupied territory.

Israel Katz called the arrest warrants “severe” and said issuing them was “inappropriate” as Palestinian militant attacks on settlers in the territory grow more frequent. He said settlers could be “brought to justice” in other ways.

The move protects Israeli settlers from being held in “administrative detention,” a shadowy form of incarceration where people are held without charge or trial.

Settlers are rarely arrested in the West Bank, where settler violence against Palestinians has spiraled since the outbreak of the war Oct. 7.

Katz’s decision was celebrated by far-right coalition allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. National Security Minister and settler firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir applauded Katz and called the move a “correction of many years of mistreatment” and “justice for those who love the land.”

Since Oct. 7, 2023, violence toward Palestinians by Israeli settlers has soared to new heights, displacing at least 19 entire Palestinian communities, according to Israeli rights group Peace Now. In that time, attacks by Palestinian militants on settlers and within Israel have also grown more common.

An increasing number of Palestinians have been placed in administrative detention. Israel holds 3,443 administrative detainees in prison, according to data from the Israeli Prison Service, reported by rights group Hamoked. That figure stood around 1,200 just before the start of the war. The vast majority of them are Palestinian, with only a handful at any given time Israeli Jews, said Jessica Montell, the director of Hamoked.

“All of these detentions without charge or trial are illegitimate, but to declare that this measure will only be used against Palestinians...is to explicitly entrench another form of ethnic discrimination,” said Montell.