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JERUSALEM, July 5 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli court on Tuesday sentenced an Arab mother of five to 22 months in jail for attempting to join the Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria.
Iman Kanju, 44, was found guilty, amidst a plea deal, of illegally leaving the country and contacting a foreign agent.
The Haifa District Court, which made the ruling in her case, also dined her 30,000 shekels (about 7,750 U.S. dollars.)
Kanju, a resident of the northern town of Shefar'am, made contact via Facebook with a member of the IS, according to the court. Kanju, who holds a Ph.D. in Islamic studies, planned to teach the IS militants the Islamic law to "raise their spirit and increase their motivation to fight," according to her indictment.
On Aug. 19, she traveled to Turkey with her father and then tried to continue alone her journey to Syria, but the Turkish authorities arrested her before she managed to cross the border.
She was deported back to Israel, where she was arrested.
Dozens of Arab Israelis were arrested and underwent legal proceedings in the past year under suspicion that they have gone to Syria, or planned to do so, in order to join the IS.
Israel outlawed any affiliation with the group last year.
