JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon officially outlawed the jihadist group Islamic State, allowing Israel to seize its assets.
Yaalon signed a statement Wednesday designating ISIS an “unauthorized organization,” and another outlawing the Abdullah al-Azzam Brigades, a Sunni jihadist group linked to al-Qaida.
An unauthorized organization “suggests, incites or encourages” terrorism against Israel. Along with seizing the assets of such a group, the designation allows Israel to stop it from meeting, recruiting or fundraising.
The move comes a day after ISIS released a video on the Internet showing the beheading of Jewish-American journalist Steven Sotloff.
Israel reportedly believes that ISIS may have a cell in the West Bank.
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