Slain Palestinian’s dad says son was duped into joining Islamic State

The father of a Palestinian teen killed by the Islamic State in Syria says his son was no Israeli spy but was tricked into joining the militants.

Said Musalam says the militant group lured his 19-year-old son, Mohamed Said Ismail, with promises of women, money and cars. He says Mohamed contacted the family from Syria, saying he wanted to come home.

The father spoke Wednesday from the family’s east Jerusalem home, a day after the militant group released a video purporting to show the killing of Musalam’s son, whom the Islamic State has accused of being a spy for Israeli intelligence. It shows a boy stepping forward and shooting the captive.

The Associated Press could not independently verify the video, but it was released by the IS group’s Furqan media arm and corresponds to previous IS videos.

In the 13-minute video posted online, a militant and a boy dressed in camouflage stand behind a man in an orange jumpsuit kneeling on the ground. The fighter makes a brief statement in French accusing the man of working for the Mossad before the boy steps forward and shoots the captive, identified as Mohamed Said Ismail Musalam, in the head.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment. Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency said that it announced earlier this year that Musalam had left for Turkey to fight with IS.

More than a month ago, the family received a call from an unidentified person who said Musalam had fled IS, was caught at a Turkish checkpoint, and was put in IS jail.

“They did not want to let him leave because if he comes back, he might be caught by the Israelis and tell them what he had seen. So they wanted to get rid of him,” the father said. “I know my son. I raised him well. I am sure he’s not working for the Mossad.”

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 9:55 AM with the headline "Slain Palestinian’s dad says son was duped into joining Islamic State."