The fact that Palestinian refugee camps still existed seven decades after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and five decades after the 1967 Six Day War was due to the self-perpetuating organization called United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). In all other parts of the world where refugee camps were established the residents assimilated in the local populations after a few years, but the dependence of the Palestinian refugees on the handouts from UNRWA made it difficult for them to leave. UNRWA was the only organization that allowed generation after generation of refugees to obtain benefits. In addition, the local Arab populations in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon were not too keen to see their "Palestinian brethren" become full fledged citizens in their countries. These refugee camps were a breeding ground for terrorists because young men who had nothing better to do than wait for their monthly food ration and pocket money from UNRWA had a lot of time on their hands and were fertile ground for radical ideas. The Amman New Camp proudly counted Ibrahim Nasrallah and Nihad Awad as two of its former residents.
Nagib took a crowded bus from the central bus station to the Amman New Camp and went to a café that was located near the largest mosque in the camp. He noted that most of the streets and alleyways were named after towns and villages in Palestine like Nablus and Al Khaleel or in Israel like Yafa and Al Ramla. He sat down under the slowly revolving ceiling fan and ordered coffee and kanafe, a cheese pastry in sweet syrup. The proprietor regarded the man who was obviously a stranger but spoke Arabic with a Palestinian accent from the Hebron region. There had been several agents of the Dairat al-Mukhabarat al-Ammah, the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate (GID), who had come to the café to spy or carry out surveillance on Palestinian supporters of the Islamic State terrorist group. Some of them affected a Palestinian accent and some were even Palestinian working in the service of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Nagib noticed the distrustful attitude of the proprietor that was not unexpected and just quietly sipped his coffee. He ordered another cup and when the proprietor brought it over to his table he asked if there was someone of authority he could talk to about some important business deal that involved the homeland. The proprietor now noticed the slight American accent and regarded him suspiciously, but said that he would see what he could do. Half an hour and two coffees later, three stocky men entered the café and approached Nagib. Their leader asked him to accompany them and led him to a short, dead-end alley in which the three men frisked him. They found his Pakistani passport and asked him about it, as he was obviously not a Pakistani, and Nagib told them that he was a Palestinian who had lived in the United States for many years and the passport was an assumed identity. This appeared to grip their attention and they blindfolded him and led him to a house that was surrounded by a two meter high wall. A couple of men stood at the gate and although no weapons were in plain sight it was obvious that they were armed. Nagib felt a change in temperature as the blindfold was removed and he was led down a short stairway into a basement.
An old man was seated in an armchair in the center of the room and introduced himself "I am Sheik Tawfiq. What business proposition do you have in mind?"
Nagib answered "I have a very precious and unique package that I need to deliver in Tel-Aviv."
Sheik Tawfiq looked at him as if he had lost his mind "So why don't you send it by mail or by courier?"
Nagib laughed "No sane courier would take this package. My package is the kind that no one wants to handle, that is why I have to do this personally. I have an account to settle and this will more than compensate for it".
The Sheik thought about this for a moment and asked "Obviously you are not a Pakistani as you had admitted to my people. Who are you?"
Nagib gave him a short version of his childhood in the village near Hebron, of his studies in Las Cruces and work at Los Alamos and briefly described his trip to Pakistan and the agreement he had made with them. He went into some detail about his brother's martyrdom in the service of the Palestinian people and the price his family paid. He concluded "I now have the perfect means to avenge my brother's murder by the Zionists and to play havoc on them in the name of the Palestinian people. All I need is a way to get into Tel-Aviv with my package".
"Nagib, I am impressed by your dedication and brilliance. How big is the package you wish to deliver and when do you want to do it?"
Nagib described the suitcase and added "I think that the best way for our people to celebrate Eid al-Fitr is to see the Israelis and the Americans count their dead. The blood of the tens of thousands of infidels will cleanse the streets of Tel-Aviv and Los Angeles."
The Sheik nodded and smiled "You shall have our full cooperation".
Nagib bowed slightly and said that he would be back with the package at the end of August. He asked the Sheik if there was somewhere safe for him to spend a month in prayers and prepare himself for the ultimate sacrifice and Sheik Tawfiq assured him that he could remain in the Amman New Camp with full immunity.
Alia found a small motel in a quiet area of Tucson in which she could rest and relax after the border crossing from Juarez. The crossing was by far the scariest thing she had ever experienced, not so much because of the risk of getting caught by the US border patrols or arrested at one of the roadblocks but due to the fact that the two guides that led the small group of frightened people kept arguing with each other in Spanish about something she didn't understand but felt that it concerned her. The younger guide consistently tried to get her separated from the group and when they were alone tried to force himself on her, while the older guide told her to stick with him and never leave the group. There was a loud exchange of words and expletives between the guides, and the older guy even drew a knife and threatened the younger guide to stay away from Alia. The rest of the group didn't utter a word when all this was going on and she was greatly relieved when the younger guide took the rest of the group towards El Paso on foot while the older guide accompanied her in a battered pick-up truck driven by a drunk Mexican. The driver seemed to know his way and used dirt roads to circumnavigate the roadblocks and get to Tucson.
Alia thought that she would be safer in Tucson than in the Los Angeles area and decided to abide her time and make the last leg of her trip just three or four days before Labor Day of September 2nd. She reckoned that she would have time to go to the Pakistani Consulate, collect the luggage and find a hotel. That would also enable her to case the target area — a large shopping mall in the greater Los Angeles area, buy clothes that will help her blend in with the shoppers, plan where to leave the suitcase and decide on her escape route.
Nagib spent almost a whole month in a safe-house in the midst of the Amman New Camp among Palestinian refugees. There were very few original refugees from 1948 — most of the old generation had passed away during the last seven decades — there were many more from 1967 but the majority of the camp's population consisted of their second, third and even fourth generation descendents. There were much larger newly created refugee camps in the north of Jordan that were populated by refugees from Syria that managed to escape the ongoing conflict there that indiscriminately persecuted Syrians of all classes and religious beliefs. These camps were in much worse shape than the more established Palestinian camps, and there was no UNRWA to come to their relief only a few volunteers and some contributions from European countries.