Concern is growing in the intelligence community regarding possible terror attacks on U.S. soil following the Hamas attack on Israel.
Reuters is reporting, that former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal is calling for protests across the Muslim world on Friday in support of the Palestinians and for the peoples of neighboring countries to join the fight against Israel.
"[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday," Meshaal, who currently heads Hamas's diaspora office, said in a recorded statement sent to Reuters.
The FBI issued the following statement regarding the situation:
"While the FBI does not have specific and credible intelligence indicating a threat to the United States stemming from the Hamas attacks in Israel, we are closely monitoring unfolding events and will share relevant information with our state, local, federal and international law enforcement, intelligence and homeland security partners to ensure they are prepared for any impacts to public safety. We will not hesitate to adjust our security posture, as appropriate, to protect the American people.
We are closely coordinating with our counterparts in the region as well as other international partners. Through our Legal Attaché office in Israel, FBI personnel are working with our partners on the ground to locate and identify any impacted Americans. Reports of deceased, injured, or unaccounted for Americans are being treated with the utmost urgency and aggressively investigated. The FBI's Victim Services Division is coordinating with the Department of State to assist, as necessary, with family engagement."
Many experts point to the open United States southern border with Mexico that they say could be allowing terrorists to enter the country without suspicion.
According to Bill Melugin from FOX News, thousands of “special interest aliens” from mostly Middle Eastern countries have been apprehended by Border Patrol while crossing into the U.S. illegally over last 2 years.
The people come from the following countries: Syria: 538 Yemen: 139 Iran: 659 Iraq: 123 Afghanistan: 6,386 Lebanon: 164 Egypt: 3,153 Pakistan: 1,613 Mauritania: 15,594 Uzbekistan: 13,624 Turkey: 30,830.
There is also concern about the terror group Hezbollah which is closely linked to Hamas.
According to a report from George Washington University, individuals affiliated with Hezbollah in the United States have an average age significantly higher than those affiliated with the Islamic State. While ISIS-affiliated individuals have an average age of 28, Hezbollah-affiliated individuals in the U.S. are older. The report cites a July 2020 RAND report, which analyzed individuals associated with American-designated foreign terrorist organizations. In this dataset of 476 individuals, the majority had an average age of 30. The age difference is attributed to the nature of Hezbollah's activities in the U.S., which are primarily focused on financial activities.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group and political party, does not have a formal presence in the United States. The United States, along with several other countries, designates Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. While Hezbollah is primarily based in Lebanon, it has been accused of carrying out terrorist activities globally, and its supporters or sympathizers may be present in various countries, including the United States.
The U.S. government has taken measures to counter Hezbollah's influence and activities. The U.S. Department of State has designated Hezbollah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), and the U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities associated with Hezbollah.
It's essential to note that the term "Hezbollah" is sometimes used more broadly to refer to the political and military activities associated with the group in the Middle East. In the context of the provided information about Nazem Ahmad, the focus is on an individual accused of providing financial support to Hezbollah rather than the organization itself establishing a presence in the United States.
New Jersey man Alexei Saab, also known as Ali Hassan Saab, was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for receiving military-type training from Hezbollah, engaging in marriage fraud, and making false statements. The sentencing followed his conviction by a jury in May 2022. Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Shia Islamic organization with political, social, and terrorist components, has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks, including the 2012 bus bombing in Bulgaria. Saab joined Hezbollah in 1996 and received extensive training in weapons and military tactics. In 2000, he entered the United States while remaining an operative for Hezbollah, conducting surveillance on various locations, including New York City landmarks, and providing detailed information to the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO). Saab also attempted to murder a suspected Israeli spy in 2003 and engaged in marriage fraud in 2012.
According to the ACLU, there are several more recent instances of Hezbollah activity targeting the U.S., consider the following sampling:
•In 1989, Bassam Gharib Makki collected intelligence on Israeli, Jewish and American targets in Germany.
•In 1989 and 1990, authorities caught a Hezbollah cell operating in Valencia, Spain. The cell was caught smuggling weapons in a ship from Cyprus so they could be prepositioned and cached in Europe. After tracking that shipment, authorities found additional explosives that had already been stashed in Europe. The cell was determined to have been targeting U.S. and Israeli targets in Europe.
•In 1997, Hezbollah was found to be collecting intelligence on the U.S. embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus.
•Throughout the mid- to late-1990s, Hezbollah recruited Palestinian students studying in Russia, and collected intelligence on Israeli, Jewish and American targets there.
•Throughout the 1990s, Hezbollah members were active in Singapore, recruiting local Sunnis, collecting intelligence on Israeli and U.S. ships in the Malacca Straits, and planning attacks. Authorities there uncovered a suicide speed-boat attack very similar to the one that was foiled about a year after September 11 off Gibraltar.
In 2017, EL DEBEK was arrested in Livonia, Michigan, outside of Detroit, for providing, attempting, and conspiring to provide material support to Hezbollah; receiving and conspiring to receive military-type training from Hizballah; use of weapons in connection with a crime of violence that is alleged to have involved, among other weapons, explosives, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and machine guns; and violating and conspiring to violate IEEPA. EL DEBEK was presented on Monday, June 5, 2017, before Magistrate Judge Henry Pitman in Manhattan federal court.
