Damra, who served as the imam for the Islamic Center of Cleveland, Ohio was deported from the US on January 4th after a long struggle to remain in the US. Damra, who is originally from Nablus, immigrated to the US in the mid 1980's. In 2004 he was convicted of lying on his naturalization papers about his affiliations with Islamic Jihad. His US citizenship was revoked soon after.
There are conflicting reports about when Damra was arrested or detained and by whom. An ICE spokesperson said that Damra was flown to Ammam, Jordan on January 5th and handed over to the Palestinian Authorities at the Allenby Bridge which connects Jordan to the West Bank. However, Damra's brother, Nabil Damra, said that on Jan. 8 Israeli authorities arrested the Imam "the moment he arrived to the border."
He is currently in Israel's Al Jalameh detention facility near Jenin in the northern West Bank. A lawyer has been hired for him by his brother. Israel's security service Shin Bet confirmed that he is being detained there; with the reason being that Damra has ties to Islamic Jihad.
