US law enforcement foils plot to assassinate Palestinian American activist | New York
Federal U.S. law enforcement agencies foiled an assassination plot against New York-based Palestinian American activist Nerdeen Kiswani.
Kiswani wrote: Publish on X Late Thursday, the FBI joint terrorism task force reported that a plot on his life was “about to happen” and that agents were conducting an operation in Hoboken, New Jersey, in connection with that plot.
A federal law enforcement official and Kiswani’s attorney said: New York Times He said the FBI has told him one or more people have been arrested in connection with an impending attempt on his life. It was reported that they did not identify the suspects or their motives.
The FBI and Kiswani did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s requests for comment.
“For months, Zionist organizations like Betar and politicians like Randy Fine have encouraged violence against my family and me,” added X. “I will have more to say as additional details come to light. I will not stop speaking out on behalf of the Palestinian people. Thank you for your support.”
Kiswani recently filed a lawsuit against the far-right pro-Israel group Betar. Eric Lee, an attorney representing Kiswani in a lawsuit against Betar, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the lawsuit filed in federal court last month, Kiswani accused the group of stalking and harassment, including social media “bounties.”
“For years, Betar USA stalked and harassed me, even offering someone $1,800 to give me a pager while I was pregnant.” Kiswani wrote on X In that case.
The group recently ceased operations in New York as part of a settlement with attorney general Letitia James, whose office investigated the group and found it engaged in “bias-motivated attacks, threats, and harassment targeting Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers.”
Florida’s Republican representative Randy Fine, whom Kiswani also referred to in his post, repeatedly made Islamophical statements and said: previously He chose Kiswani.
Kiswani, who was born in Jordan and has lived in the United States since he was a child, is the founder of Within Our Lifetime, a pro-Palestinian group that has been behind many protests in New York against Israel’s war on Gaza.
The group and Kiswani himself have been condemned by some for their support for armed resistance and their rhetoric, including Kiswani’s claim that Palestine must be liberated “at all costs”.
Pro-Israel groups, including Betar, have frequently called him a “supporter of terrorism”. He also had sometimes heated disagreements with fellow pro-Palestinian activists and repeatedly criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for positions he considered contrary to the Palestinian cause.
But Kiswani has repeatedly denied allegations of antisemitism, arguing that the group’s focus is on the state of Israel, not Jews.
“This is a terrible thing, but not surprising in a political environment where our own president is constantly sowing division and pushing extremist rhetoric,” said Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso.
“Political violence has no place in New York,” he added.
