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Palestinian who beat up US Jew identified as released illegal immigrant

Bechir Lehbeib was indicted on hate crime charges when caught after the fight over the pro-Israel flags he had stolen from the man’s porch.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

An illegal migrant who described himself as a “Palestinian immigrant” and is facing hate crime charges after beating up a Jewish man had been caught at the American border but released almost immediately, The New York Post reported Tuesday.

Bechir Lehbeib had jumped the southern border in Arizona on July 20, 2023, according to a House Judiciary report, one of a series on criminals who are part of the flood of millions of illegal aliens crossing into the U.S. that is meant to highlight the ongoing border crisis under the Biden administration.

He came in a group of 226 people who were caught by the Border Patrol, said the report. He was then released on his own recognizance just two days later, after being served with a “Notice To Appear” more than a year later at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, where illegal entrants can argue in court against being deported.

He told the authorities that he feared for his safety in his home country of Mauritania, a country dominated by the military in which Sharia law is promoted, although there are government elections.

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On February 4, the Ring camera on the house of Long Island resident Aleksandr Binyaminov caught Lehbeib walking up the driveway, then reappearing with a combined Israeli and American flag and one which stated “In this home, we stand with Israel,” which he had ripped down from the home.

As he walked away, video footage showed Binyaminov chasing and then confronting the thief, and Lehbeib starting to throw punches.

“He basically got me in a choke position, threw me on the floor and headbutted me,” the victim, who also managed to throw some punches of his own, told the Post. “He was saying, ‘I’m from Palestine.’”

After Lehbeib fled, Binyaminov called 911 and the Nassau County police caught him a short time later.

The Post reported that Lehbeib allegedly told them, “If I see the flag of the people that killed my people, we will have a problem.”

In March the 26-year-old illegal was indicted on charges of second-degree assault, robbery, and criminal mischief in addition to several hate crime charges.

If convicted on all counts, he could theoretically land in prison for up to 25 years.