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Nazareth man charged after allegedly seeking Hamas help, researching explosives to attack Ben-Gvir

Muhammad Awad, a 29-year-old Israeli citizen from Nazareth, was arrested and later indicted on charges including contact with a foreign agent and obtaining instructions for a terrorist act. Prosecutors allege he sought to contact Hamas and researched explosives, considering using a drone or guided missile to attack National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 21–23, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

Israeli authorities announced on Tuesday the arrest of Muhammad Awad, a 29-year-old Israeli citizen from Nazareth, on suspicion of promoting terrorist activity. According to the Shin Bet and Israel Police, Awad had contacted the Hamas terrorist organization with the aim of joining and obtaining resources to carry out terrorist activity, and was also suspected of planning to harm National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Following the investigation, the Northern District Attorney’s Office submitted a prosecutor’s declaration to the Nof HaGalil, Nazareth Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday ahead of filing an indictment. On Thursday, Awad was formally indicted in the Nazareth District Court on four charges: two counts of contact with a foreign agent, obtaining instructions for a terrorist act, unlawful possession of ammunition, and obstruction of justice. He has been in custody since June 28.

Coverage Comparison

The Jerusalem Post reported on the arrest and subsequent indictment in two separate articles. The first, published on July 21, focused on the arrest and the authorities’ announcement, quoting Minister Ben-Gvir’s response. The second, published on July 23, provided more detailed information from the indictment, including the allegations about Awad’s efforts to contact Hamas and his research into explosives and potential attack methods.

Both articles attribute the information to official sources—the Shin Bet, Israel Police, and prosecutors—and describe the case within the context of Israeli counterterrorism efforts. The coverage consistently emphasizes the severity with which the Shin Bet and Israel Police view involvement of Israeli citizens in activities that endanger state security.

Key Claims

Muhammad Awad, a 29-year-old Israeli citizen from Nazareth, was arrested on suspicion of promoting terrorist activity and planning to harm National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to the Shin Bet and Israel Police.
The investigation found that Awad had contacted Hamas with the aim of joining and obtaining resources to carry out terrorist activity, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
The indictment alleges that Awad repeatedly tried to contact Hamas, researched explosives, and considered using a drone or guided missile to attack Minister Ben-Gvir, according to prosecutors.
Awad was charged with two counts of contact with a foreign agent, obtaining instructions for a terrorist act, unlawful possession of ammunition, and obstruction of justice, as stated in the indictment.
The Shin Bet and Israel Police said they view any involvement by Israeli citizens in activity that endangers the security of the state and its citizens with the utmost severity, and will use all means at their disposal to bring those involved to justice.
Minister Ben-Gvir said this was the ninth time that terrorist organizations have targeted and tried to harm him, and he thanked the Shin Bet and police for thwarting the attempt.

Perspectives

Israeli Security Agencies

The Shin Bet and Israel Police stated that they view involvement of Israeli citizens in terrorist activity with utmost severity and will use all available means to bring those responsible to justice. Their announcement highlighted the arrest as a thwarting of a potential attack on Minister Ben-Gvir.

Itamar Ben-Gvir

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir welcomed the arrest, saying it was the ninth attempt on his life by terrorist organizations. He thanked the Shin Bet and police and reiterated his commitment to policies including prison reform, demolition of illegal homes, implementation of the death penalty law for terrorists, and arming all Israeli citizens, stating he would not be deterred.

How this outlet told it

Jerusalem Post as of Jul 21, 2026, 11:15 AM UTC

Framing: Terrorism thwarted — Serious and concerned

Facts Included:

Muhammad Awad arrested on suspicion of promoting terrorist activity
Awad contacted Hamas to join and obtain resources for terrorist activity
Awad planned to harm National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir
Shin Bet and Israel Police view involvement of Israeli citizens in terrorist activity with utmost severity

Read the source article →

Jerusalem Post as of Jul 23, 2026, 10:45 AM UTC

Framing: Terrorism plot foiled — Detailed and informative

Facts Included:

Muhammad Awad indicted for contact with a foreign agent, obtaining instructions for a terrorist act, unlawful possession of ammunition and obstruction of justice
Awad researched explosives and considered using a drone or guided missile to attack Ben-Gvir
Awad contacted Hamas multiple times and sought resources to advance the plan against Ben-Gvir

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimMuhammad Awad, a 29-year-old Israeli citizen from Nazareth, was arrested on suspicion of promoting terrorist activity. He was suspected of planning to harm National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 21, 2026, 11:15 AM UTC
ClaimAwad contacted Hamas to join and obtain resources for terrorist activity.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 21, 2026, 11:15 AM UTC
ClaimThe Shin Bet and Israel Police view involvement of Israeli citizens in terrorist activity with utmost severity.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 21, 2026, 11:15 AM UTC
ClaimMuhammad Awad was charged with contact with a foreign agent, obtaining instructions for a terrorist act, unlawful possession of ammunition, and obstruction of justice.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 23, 2026, 10:45 AM UTC
ClaimAwad researched explosives and considered using a drone or guided missile to attack National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 23, 2026, 10:45 AM UTC
ClaimThis is the ninth time that terrorist organizations have targeted and tried to harm National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.	ConfidenceLow	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 21, 2026, 11:15 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: Jerusalem Post 6 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14