A Palestinian Authority terrorist was caught Monday attempting to infiltrate America’s porous southern border, the New York Post reported Thursday morning.
Omar Nawaf Issa Shehada, a 35-year-old resident of the Palestinian Authority, appeared on list of those with a Terror Screening Data Set (TSDS) record.
Shehada was caught at the border in Santa Theresa, New Mexico, according to the report, which cited a leaked memo as the source of the information. He remains in custody “pending his removal from the US.”
The US Border Patrol issued an advisory to its agents nearly a year ago — following the October 7th invasion of Israel — warning that Palestinian Authority terrorists could attempt to infiltrate the United States through its southern border.
“Individuals inspired by, or reacting to the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via circuitous transit across the Southwestern border,” the alert warned.
“Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the US to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico.” The alert also listed the patches of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.
On October 7, 2023 thousands of Hamas-led terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people, torturing, raping and burning whole families and abducting 255 others who were dragged into Gaza as hostages. In addition to four hostages held by Hamas since 2014, 111 people remain captive in Gaza — but intelligence personnel have estimated that just 33 of the hostages have survived the ordeal.
The terrorist is “watchlisted as a Cat-15 (Used Explosives/Arms)” according to the National Targeting Center-Border Patrol Terror Screening Data Set (TSDS) Encounter report.
“Shehada traveled … from Madrid, Spain to Bogota, Columbia on flight LA … with a connecting flight to Panama City, Panama,” the report said, adding the terrorist “arrived in San Salvador, El Salvador on flight … TSC (Terrorist Screening Center) confirmed with NTC (National Targeting Center) the positive on that travel with Event.”
Shehada was traveling alone but was among a group of seven who were stopped at the border.
The arrest came after Border Patrol agents caught three other suspected Palestinian Authority terrorists attempting to infiltrate through the border in California last month. One of the three was found to have a photo of a masked man holding an AK-47 assault rifle, sources told The Post.
Federal agents also caught one terror suspect from Turkey in addition to the three Palestinian Authority terrorists, who were taken into custody near San Diego.
The group was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force for investigation.
