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Palestinian on terror watchlist arrested on southern US border

Omar Shehada, accused of ‘explosives/arms’ use, was caught in Santa Teresa, N.M.

South Texas, Border Patrol Agents, McAllen Horse Patrol Unit
U.S. Border Patrol agents from the McAllen station in South Texas, Sept. 25 2013. Photo by Donna Burton via Wikimedia Commons.

Omar Shehada, 35, a Palestinian from Judea and Samaria who appears on a terror watchlist for alleged prior “explosives/arms” use, was arrested on the southern U.S. border in Santa Teresa, N.M., the New York Post reported.

Shehada was caught on Monday, the paper reported, citing a leaked U.S. Customs and Border Protection memo that didn’t identify the terrorist group with which the man is associated. He flew from Madrid to Bogota to Panama City to San Salvador before trying to enter the United States, according to the memo.

The arrest came the day before four congressmen penned a letter to Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. secretary of homeland security, and Christopher Wray, the FBI director, about an earlier report of people with possible terrorism ties being arrested at the Mexican border.

“Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison,” the U.S. president stated.
A university spokesman told JNS that “the condemnation of such a peaceful event to share a story of resilience in the face of extreme suffering is antithetical to the values of our Bruin community.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated that police are working not only to hold the people involved accountable but also “ensure that this isn’t something that is becoming normal in our city.”
“Judea and Samaria are central to Jewish history and faith,” stated David Livingston, a Republican state representative. “This resolution affirms what is true and rejects language created to deny it.”
The police said it was eager to track down a group of young men in the area at the time.
“If these allegations are true, the SPLC is likely to be the largest single funder of white nationalist extremism in the United States,” stated Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.