The Islamic State group said on Thursday it was holding an Israeli Arab who had posed as a foreign fighter in order to spy for the Mossad, an account denied by Israel and by the man's family, who said he had been kidnapped. In an interview published by Islamic State's online English-language magazine Dabiq, 19-year old Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam said he had joined the insurgent group in Syria so as to report to the Israelis on its weapons caches, bases and Palestinian recruits. He added that he was recruited to spy by a neighbor, a Jewish police officer who promised him a monetary reward. After his conduct aroused the suspicion of Islamic State commanders, Musallam was quoted as saying, he broke cover by phoning his father in East Jerusalem, leading to his capture. "I say to all those who want to spy on the Islamic State, don't think that you're so smart and that you can deceive the Islamic State. You won't succeed at all," he said, according to Dabiq. "Stay away from this path. Stay away from helping the Jews and the murtaddin [apostates]. Follow the right path." Speaking at the family home, Musallam's father, Said, denied his son was a spy, saying he went missing after travelling as a tourist to Turkey. "My son went to Turkey for a vacation and he told me that he was kidnapped by Islamic State in Syria and that's it. He told me he has been to many places in Syria and that he wants to come home. Somebody told him that he was going to take him home. He tried to come back but Islamic State held him. Last time someone talked to me and said that my son was in an Islamic State jail, in Talabiad Jail. I never heard from him again," he said. Said told Israel Hayom that his son "is not a spy, and all the things that he supposedly said in this interview are complete lies. No one from our family works for, has worked for or will work for Israeli intelligence. We are completely broken and have not rested at all since we heard he was kidnapped." Musallam's mother, Um Ahmad, said she had only just found out her son may be being held by Islamic State. "I just heard about it. I didn't know. I didn't know. Muhammad can't be working for Jews [Israelis] or anyone else, and he is not interested in politics. Muhammad loves his home and work and he has few friends. I can't believe that he would do such a thing. Muhammad is very special and unique," she said. An Israeli security official said Musallam travelled to Turkey on Oct. 24 in order to fight for Islamic State in Syria. "He went on his own initiative, without his family's knowledge," the official told Reuters. Asked whether his statement constituted a denial that Musallam was an Israeli spy, the official said: "You can understand it that way, yes." Worried that members of its 20-percent Arab minority might travel to Syria or Iraq to join Islamist insurgent groups and then return radicalized and battle-ready, Israel has stepped up monitoring and prosecution of suspected would-be volunteers. Turkey draws many Israeli Arab holidaymakers. It is also a major conduit for foreigners who slip across the border to help insurgents trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad. Musallam worked as an Israeli firefighter, his family said. A friend of his who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said Musallam had posted pro-Islamic State messages on social media. Reuters could find no social media accounts under Musallam's name. A source in the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, said Israeli Arabs returning from Syria were routinely questioned for intelligence on jihadi groups. The source said communications with Israeli Arabs who wanted to return from Syria had sometimes been handled by Ayoob Kara, an Israeli Druze politician and former army officer close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Contacted by Reuters, Kara said he was aware of Musallam's case and did not believe he was a Mossad spy. While declining to discuss Musallam in detail, Kara said he knew of several young Israeli Arabs who had gone to Syria to aid refugees or for the thrill of available women or booty, only to be kidnapped and exploited by insurgents like Islamic State.
Credit: Reuters
According to the interview, Musallam's father and brother encouraged him to spy for Israel, saying that the job would offer good compensation. He said he was trained by Israeli intelligence officials before leaving the country to spy on Islamic State.
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ISIS claims to hold hostage from east Jerusalem
Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam, 19, from east Jerusalem is reportedly being held by the Islamic State group after it claims to have discovered he was spying for Israel • Musallam's parents say their son would never spy for Israel and is not political.