The Beersheba Magistrate's Court recently convicted Dr. Muhammad Azzam, who served as a doctor at Soroka Hospital, of the offense of membership in a terrorist organization.
During the trial, Attorney Hofit Kantrowitz and Tehila Nidam from the Southern District Attorney's Office proved the facts of the indictment through a series of testimonies and expert opinions.
The indictment indicates that, starting in 2014, Azzam intensively watched content related to the activities of the ISIS organization.
After the events of October 7 and against the backdrop of the "Iron Swords" War, Azzam decided to join the organization and swore allegiance to the organization.
It also appears that the defendant sent his friends documents from the massacre, with the tone of his correspondence reflecting mockery and joy at the destruction of the State of Israel.,
Also, during 2024, he downloaded information regarding how to prepare explosives and regarding toxins.
In the ruling, Judge Shosh Sheetrit of the Beer Sheva Magistrate's Court ruled that the lack of direct contact with a representative of the terrorist organization does not detract from Azzam's membership in the organization, as he acted in accordance with the "joining protocol" that the organization outlined for its operatives in foreign arenas.
This determination was based, among other things, on an opinion submitted during the trial, which indicates that ISIS has made structural changes to the organization in order to cope with high-level counterterrorism capabilities, and has moved to a model of inspiring and motivating individuals to take action, without the need for direct direction or hierarchical connection.
The judge also referred to one of the testimonies presented during the trial, which states: "The combination of the defendant's physical accessibility to soldiers (and Israeli citizens in general) as part of his work at Soroka Hospital and the "nature" of the conversation he had with his friends (in which there was a desire to "impress" each other with activities in the spirit of the Madas) could have led the latter to carry out active activities in the spirit of the extremist organization, and it is possible that he would have done so had he not been arrested.""
