Free Republic

A New York attorney is taking the complicated process of picking a jury to a new extreme. He represents a suspected terrorist and asked a judge to keep Jews off the panel. Inside Brooklyn Federal Court, attorney Frederick Cohn told Judge Eric Vitaliano, “I’m not wild about having Jews on the jury in this case,” CBS 2’s Steve Langford reported. Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, a Muslim, is charged with making false statements in connection with a terrorism offense. His attorney told the court he didn’t believe his client could get a fair trial if Jews are on the jury. … For...

A terrorist wanna-be charged with lying to the FBI about his aspirations to become a Taliban jihadist was ordered held without bail Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court. Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, 21, of Staten Island, was arrested last week in Hawaii, where he had tried in the past to travel to Somalia, but failed because he was on a "no fly" list. Shehadeh nodded his head to indicate he understood his legal rights when Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes explained them. "The defendant poses both a flight risk and a danger to the community," Assistant U.S. Attorney James Loonam told Reyes when...

(CNN) -- SNIPPET: "The charge centers around a one-way ticket that authorities allege Abdel Hameed Shehadeh purchased from Queens, New York, to Islamabad, Pakistan. Shehadeh originally told investigators that the purpose of his trip was to visit an Islamic university and attend a friend's engagement party. But he later admitted to FBI agents in Hawaii that he bought the ticket in order to join a fighting group such as the Taliban, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in New York Monday."

SNIPPET: “The ceasefire announced by Hamas on January 18, never a sterling example of the genre, further deteriorated on Sunday as over 15 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel from Gaza. That night, when Israeli planes struck back at Hamas targets, many Palestinians reported that Israel had telephoned them warnings to evacuate. There were no casualties in the strike. During Operation Cast Lead, Israel reduced Palestinian casualties with such measures as disseminating warnings in leaflets or SMS messages and dropping small, harmless bombs on rooftops before attacks. It prompted former British colonel Richard Kemp to say that “I...

IDF: Intelligence gap led to civilian deaths in Shehadeh hit By Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Correspondent and Agencies Gaps in intelligence and assessments resulted in the civilian deaths in the IDF's assassinatio of Hamas military wing commander Salah Shehadeh last week, an internal probe of the army has determined. On the night of July 22, an Israeli F-16 warplane dropped a one-ton bomb in a densely populated area of Gaza city, killing Shehadeh and 15 other civilians, most of whom were children. The United States and many other countries sharply criticized Israel for the attack. The IDF and Shin Bet Security...

Sharon serves notice: Two can play at terrorGeorge Jonas National Post Monday, July 29, 2002On the night of July 23 an Israeli F-16 fighter fired a one-ton missile into a residential building in Gaza, killing top Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh, 40, along with 14 Palestinians, including nine children. Before discussing the event, it's useful to note something about civilian casualties in general.Irregular combatants often use human shields. Setting up shop in the middle of villages and refugee camps offers two advantages to a terrorist. First, it provides him with safe areas as regular forces may be reluctant to inflict...

Workers sift through the rubble of terror mastermind Salah Shehadeh's house in Gaza.(AP) Israel's two-year quest to kill the leader of Hamas's military wing finally bore fruit, but at a hefty cost in human lives and diplomatic fallout. Was is worth it? Before the dust settled Tuesday morning, military sources lauded the Gaza bombing of Salah Shehadeh's home as one of the most important strikes against the Palestinian terror infrastructure since the start of the war some 22 months ago. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon went so far as to call it "one of our greatest successes." But as the 16...

Ben-Eliezer: Killed Hamas leader was preparing 'mega attack' By Yossi Verter, Ha'aretz Correspondent and Agencies Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said Thursday that Hamas military commander Salah Shehada, killed in the IAF's Gaza strike on Monday, was in the midst of preparing "a mega terror attack." Speaking at a meeting at the Labor Party's central headquarters in Beit Berl, Ben-Eliezer said that Shehada planned to infiltrate one ton of explosives into Israel "which could shock the whole nation or kill hundreds." Ben-Eliezer said that he postponed the assassination operation eight times during the past two months, including last Friday. "The plane...

The Bush administration has expressed angst with Israel over its rocket attack earlier this week on a building that housed Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh, but a May interview with the slain militant goes a long way toward explaining why the Israeli military may have acted. The White House said the July 23 attack utilized an inappropriate amount of force, while Israeli officials defended an F-16 missile strike that killed Shehadeh and 14 others – including nine children – as an act of war that likely saved "hundreds" of Israeli lives. The Hamas leader was targeted by Israel because of his...

MILWAUKEE (AP) Federal authorities have found seven people in Wisconsin suspected of bribing U.S. embassy officials in the Persian Gulf to obtain illegal visas. Six of the seven don't appear to have terrorist ties, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis D. Schmitz. He said little is known about the seventh person, Ahmad Abed Atia, 23, who had been living in Milwaukee. Atia was uncooperative with investigators and has been transferred to Chicago on a federal visa fraud charge, Schmitz said. The seven are part of a larger group of foreigners from Jordan, Pakistan, Syria and Bangladesh suspected to have paid at...