Rasmieh Odeh, a Palestinian terrorist who had previously been convicted of assisting in a Jerusalem supermarket bombing, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for omitting her involvement in the jihadist act from her U.S. immigration papers, according to reports.
After her 18 months in a U.S. prison, Odeh will most likely be deported to Jordan, reports the Chicago Sun Times.
Odeh was accompanied by about 100 of her supporters on Thursday as she arrived at a Detroit courthouse. While in the U.S., she has worked for the Chicago-based Arab American Action Network, which champions pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel causes.
“Only a significant sentence, which shows that there is a serious price to pay for committing such fraud on the U.S. immigration system, will reflect the seriousness of the offense and provide deterrence to others who may be contemplating such a move and are weighing the possible costs and the possible gain,” the prosecution memo said of Odeh, in recommending a longer prison term.
The convicted terrorist has maintained that she was forced into a confession by Israeli officials following the 1969 Jerusalem bombing that killed two innocent students, 21-year-old Leon Kanner of Netanya, Israel, and 22-year-old Eddie Joffe of Tel Aviv.
The Detroit judge did not agree with Odeh, however, revealing his belief that her “history does include some terrorist activities.”
The Palestinian convict spent ten years in an Israeli prison before being released as part of a prisoner exchange in 1980 with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group. Israeli investigators reportedly found “explosive bricks in her room” and “extensive bomb-making materials and explosives” in Odeh’s residence before convicting her.
In 1995, she entered the U.S. by way of Jordan, where, in her immigration papers, she omitted her involvement in the Jerusalem terrorist act.