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| Middle East |
| Israel Arrests U.S. Citizen Linked to Al Qaeda |
| 2002-12-04 |
| Israeli security forces have arrested a U.S. citizen suspected of helping distribute funds to Palestinian militants on behalf of al Qaeda, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said Wednesday. It said Khaled Nazem Diab, a U.S. citizen who had recently been living in Qatar, had been arrested in the past month after entering Israel to allegedly "distribute funds to groups linked to terror groups in general and al Qaeda in particular." Sharon's office, which is in charge of the Shin Bet internal security service, said Diab would be deported from Israel once his interrogation was completed. I hope the interrogation is terribly painful. Wonder if he's going to be deported to the U.S.? If so, I wonder if he's a candidate for a military tribunal? He sounds like he might be... Diab, who was born in 1968, had previously been in Afghanistan where he was in contact with people connected to the Taliban and was also known for his involvement with activists in the militant Islamic group Hamas. In other words, if it's a terrorist group, he's all for it. FOLLOWUP: Dr. Khaled Nazem Diab, 34, arrived in Israel on November 14 on a mission for the Qatari Red Crescent and the University of Missouri Trauma Center to train Palestinian social workers, said Farek Hussein, director for the Palestinian Red Crescent. During his interrogation, which lasted several days and was carried out with FBI cooperation, he revealed that he was a member of Islamic charity organizations that were transferring money to the Palestinian Authority. Diab had worked at an American charity group called al-Najada, that was closed after the September 11 bombings on charges of transferring funds to terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaida. The head of al-Najada, Rabih Hadad, was recently arrested in the U.S., also on suspicion of transferring money to bin Laden's group. After the interrogation, acting on legal advice, Israel deported Diab to the United States. "Get the hell out and stay out!" Rabih was the head of Global Relief, which is on the terror funding list. Haddad is apparently in the Mumia category for lefties wanting to get him out of jug. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |