[1] In late September 2001, after the attacks, a Cleveland TV station showed a video of a speech Damra had made in 1991 where he recommended stabbing Jews in Israel.
Damra has said that at the time of the speech Palestinian Islamic Jihad was not a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and explained that his rhetoric was influenced by his experiences growing up in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
He said that his outreach efforts with Jewish and Christian communities over the years had helped shape his views about peace and tolerance, saying "As all of us go through evolution in our life, intellectual and spiritual, so did I".
[1][4] The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported that Damrah was delivered to Israeli security agents at a West Bank crossing controlled by Israel.
On January 26, 2007, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) reported that Damrah had been released from an Israeli prison after three weeks in custody and returned to the West Bank where he was staying with family.