The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced this week that it broke up an alleged plan by a Jordanian national to attack Jews in Texas. The news comes as the conflict between Israel and Hamas led to an increased terrorist alarm by the FBI Director earlier this week.
Sohaib Abuayyash allegedly researched how to construct explosive devices and posted on social media about murdering Jewish people, according to testimony from FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The FBI director also testified before Congress earlier this week that the United States faced the highest prospect of terrorism since the rise of the Islamic State about a decade ago.
Wray made the statements before the Senate Homeland Security Committee. He added that Abuayyash “has made statements to others that support the killing of individuals of particular religious faiths.”
FBI Arrests Jordanian Man Plotting Attack on Jews: Reporthttps://t.co/BJbTufNbwe
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) November 3, 2023
The suspect is currently incarcerated on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by someone with a non-immigrant visa. Judge Christina Bryan wrote that Abuayyash spoke about possible death for a religious cause and desired to “go to Gaza to fight.”
According to the federal government, the suspect had been practicing at Texas firing ranges.
The FBI believes that he planned to attack Jews in Houston.
The FBI head said that American intelligence believes that “the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called ‘caliphate’ several years ago.”
He said that the conflict in Gaza “has raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a whole ‘nother level since the horrific terrorist attacks committed by Hamas against innocent people in Israel a few weeks ago.”
Wray’s statements come as Israel continues its ground offensive in Gaza, splitting the territory into two pieces. A portion of the strip’s north and much of its center has been seized during the ongoing operations.
The director said that the United States “cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or another foreign terrorist organization may exploit the current conflict to conduct attacks here on our own soil.”
However, he said it was not time to “panic.”
