ALBAWABA - Fox News says that the FBI has arrested a Palestinian man living in Louisiana and accused him of taking part in the Hamas-led attacks on Israeli communities near Gaza on October 7, 2023.
The suspect, Mahmoud Amin Yaqoub al-Muhtadi, was arrested in Lafayette, Louisiana. Federal prosecutors have charged him with fraud and misuse of immigration and travel documents, as well as giving or trying to give material support to a foreign terrorist group.
According to court papers, al-Muhtadi was a member of Hamas and worked with the National Resistance Brigades, which is the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). Prosecutors say he was in charge of coordinating fighters who joined Hamas units during the attack on Israel on October 7.
Fox News says that telecom data shows that al-Muhtadi's phone was in Israeli territory near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the places Hamas attacked that day.
The FBI also says they have recordings of phone calls in which al-Muhtadi talked about bringing fighters and weapons into Israel and later celebrated the kidnappings that happened during the operation. He is said to have praised the attacks on social media, posting messages that supported Hamas and talked about "liberating occupied land."
Investigators say that on the morning of October 7, he got a message that said: "I see war," and then a few minutes later, "Hell has opened its gates; it's total chaos this time."
Accusations of Immigration Fraud
The FBI's investigation also found proof that al-Muhtadi lied on his U.S. visa application, hiding his ties to groups that the U.S. government considers to be terrorist organizations. He later asked to stay in Louisiana permanently, where he had been living until he was arrested.
The New York Times says that al-Muhtadi will have his first hearing in federal court in Lafayette. He is facing charges of terrorism and immigration-related fraud. His legal defense team or the Palestinian Authority have not yet made an official statement.
U.S. Citizens in the Israeli Army
The case has come up because new reports show that a lot of Americans are serving in the Israeli military. Between 2002 and 2020, an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 U.S. "lone soldiers" served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) every year. About a third of them came from North America.
Since the attacks on October 7, that number has reportedly risen sharply, with about 7,000 Americans joining or rejoining the Israeli military. According to the IDF, at least 23,000 Americans are now serving in its ranks, either as lone soldiers or as immigrants who moved to Israel with their families.
Investigation still going on
The U.S. government has not said anything else about the evidence or whether there are other suspects being looked into. The case has gotten a lot of attention because it is one of the few times that people in the U.S. have been linked to militant activity abroad. It could be one of the most important terrorism-related arrests connected to the October 7 Hamas attack so far.
