2 Israeli Arabs Arrested after Failed Bids to Join IS

Two Israeli Arabs have been arrested after an unsuccessful bid to join the ranks of the Islamic State jihadist group by passing through Turkey to Syria, security and judicial sources said Thursday.

Adnan Salameh, from Ramleh near Tel Aviv, was arrested at that city's Ben Gurion airport on July 28 after having been expelled from Turkey, the internal security service Shin Bet said.

Salameh, 21, had made contact with two IS activists over the Internet who instructed him to fly to Turkey and then travel to a town on the Syrian border, a statement said.

He was arrested by Turkish police at a hotel while waiting to cross the border, Shin Bet said, without explaining how they had learned of his plans.

Salameh has been charged with contacting a foreign agent and of attempting to travel to a hostile country.

Meanwhile, Fares Shreteh was arrested in Israel after having been refused entry into Turkey, judicial sources said.

Shreteh, 19, originally from east Jerusalem, had been living in the United States and flew to Turkey where he was denied entry because of problems with his passport. He traveled to Israel to renew the document and was arrested.

Israeli authorities say several dozen Israel Arabs have joined IS ranks in recent months, and some have been killed.

Arab Israelis are those who remained in the Jewish state after its foundation in 1948, and their descendants. There are about 1.4 million of them, equal to 17.5 percent of the population.