Last update - 00:00 11/01/2007
Shin Bet questions ex-American suspected of aiding Islamic Jihad
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent and AP
Israeli authorities who arrested the former imam of Ohio's largest mosque after he was deported have questioned him about the militant Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, his attorney said Wednesday.
Fawaz Damra, a Palestinian whose American citizenship was revoked over suspicions of raising funds for Islamic Jihad 15 years ago, has admitted to raising money for the Palestinian cause, according to his attorney Smadar Ben-Natan.
Damra was transferred to Israeli custody on a "secret flight" following cooperation between the FBI and Israeli security services.
On Wednesday Ben-Natan met with Damra, whom she is representing at his family's request, at Kishon prison.
Damra told Ben-Natan that he had indeed raised funds for the Palestinian cause in 1991. He also told U.S. judicial authorities that his sermons had included harsh words against Israel and the Jews, whom he described as "pigs and monkeys."
Nonethless, Damra said he had changed his world view since 1993, attended university and begun working in organizations that promote dialogue between religions.
According to Damra, his citizenship was revoked despite the change in opinion, and several days ago he boarded a special plane destined for Jordan at Newark Airport in New Jersey along with six drug dealers. Following a short interrogation, Jordanian authorities transferred him to the Shin Bet and Israeli police via Allenby Bridge.
Damra, a 46-year-old Palestinian whose family lives in Nablus, served as the imam of the Cleveland mosque for several years.
He was arrested in the United States about a year ago on suspicion that he raised funds for Islamic Jihad in 1991, but it appears not enough evidence was found to prosecute him.
Damra is suspected of having raised funds for the Islamic Committee for Palestine organization. The leader of the organization, Dr. Sami al-Arian, a Florida lecturer of Palestinian origin, several months ago was acquitted of charges of funding terrorist activity.
To avoid an acquittal, the U.S. ruled to revoke Damra's citizenship in a legal proceeding, arguing that Damra had violated immigration laws by not handing over information on the organizations in which he participated prior to receiving citizenship.
After his citizenship was revoked, Damra was transferred to Jordan in one of the "secret flights" in which U.S. intelligence services transfer suspected terrorists from one country to another for questioning.
Damra's situation is unique, as he is a U.S. citizen arrested on U.S. territory, whereas suspects transferred in secret flights are usually those who had been arrested in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Egypt.
After Damra disappeared, his family turned to Hamoked Center for the Defense of the Individual in Israel in an effort to locate him.
The Shin Bet has confirmed that Damra is in Israeli custody on suspicion of involvement with Islamic Jihad and is being interrogated.