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Palestinian man who plotted to kill Jews in Houston arrested on federal firearms charges
(JTA) — A Palestinian man living in the Houston area has been charged by the FBI with illegal possession of a firearm after reportedly plotting to attack a Jewish gathering.
The man, 20-year-old Sohaib Abuyyash, was arrested Oct. 19 on federal charges unsealed on Friday. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Texas, he “has been conducting physical training and has trained with weapons to possibly commit an attack.” Abuyyash has Jordanian citizenship and was in the United States on an expired visa.
CNN, quoting an unnamed law enforcement source, reported that Abuyyash was “plotting to attack a Jewish gathering” and spoke of “martyrdom.” The suspect also appeared with pistols and assault weapons in firearms training videos posted to social media.
Abuyyash has also “been in direct contact with others who share a radical mindset,” according to the FBI indictment. He is set to be arraigned on Nov. 13 and faces up to 15 years in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
In a message to the local Jewish community, the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston thanked the FBI for its work on the case and advised local Jews to check their security protocols and “remain vigilant.”
“When an arrest like that is made it sends two messages to our community,” the federation’s CEO, Renée Wizig-Barrios, told local news outlets. “The first message is the FBI is doing an excellent job of pursuing these terrorists, and we’re grateful for that. And it also is fearful for people.”
She added, “We’re not going to take our mezuzah off our doors.”
The case has attracted interest from FBI Director Christopher Wray, who referenced the arrest during a Senate hearing last week as Jews across the United States have faced a reported increase in antisemitism amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas. Wray said antisemitism had reached “historic levels” since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel sparked a war in Gaza between the terror group and Israel.
Wray testified that Abuyyash expressed “support for killing Jews.”
For now, Abuyyash has not been charged in conjunction with any planned antisemitic attacks. He is being held, pending further criminal proceedings, for illegally possessing a firearm — the most immediate charge for which the FBI could arrest him while it continues its investigation, according to CNN.
Abuyyash moved to the United States from Jordan in 2016 on a tourist visa and applied for asylum in the United States after his visa expired in 2019. According to CNN, he had been authorized to work in the country under the condition that he not “possess or use any firearms or ammunition.”
During testimony to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Tuesday, Wray called attention to Abuyyash’s arrest when discussing the risks of domestic terrorism threats in the United States in the wake of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
“Here in the United States, our most immediate concern is that violent extremists, individuals or small groups, will draw inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks against Americans going about their daily lives,” Wray said during the hearing. “That includes not just homegrown violent extremists inspired by a foreign terrorist organization but also domestic violent extremists targeting Jewish or Muslim communities.”
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The post Palestinian man who plotted to kill Jews in Houston arrested on federal firearms charges appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.