Two Jewish aliens from Israel led local police on a  high speed chase through a remote area of Unicoi County Saturday afternoon in which the pair reportedly threw several items out of a rented Ryder truck, Harris said.

“They ignored my blue lights for two and one half miles and they were traveling 20 miles an hour over posted speed limits,” he said.

One man’s passport had expired and the other had a fake identification card, the sheriff said. By Sunday morning, Harris had identified the man who refused to give his first name as Almaliach Naor who was in the company of Shnuel Daran, 22, both from Israel and living in Miami, Fla.

Two Israeli nationals held here without bond in the Unicoi County Jail will appear in Unicoi County General Sessions Court this morning, Sheriff Kent Harris said Sunday.

Harris said the FBI ordered him to hold the duo without bond.

Following their arrest Saturday afternoon, the sheriff said he “had a sick feeling” when he found a “Learn to Fly” brochure in the truck, especially since the county is home to the Nuclear Fuel Services plant not far from downtown Erwin.

“This is still a very suspicious case,” Harris said Sunday as he reiterated the comment he made Saturday concerning the matter:

The Florida flight instructor, Nissan Giat, said he met Naor at a moving company where the Israeli man works. Giat said he gave Naor one of his cards, but the man didn't express interest in flying lessons.

Giat said Naor was recently released from the Israeli army. "He's a good guy," Giat said. "He's not a terrorist."

Source

Shmuel Dahan and Almaliach Naor were in court Monday, but a bond hearing was not held because they were waiting for help from the Israeli consulate

One of the ' Suspected terrorists ' is the son of the spokesman for the Likud Party of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He is also the head of 150,000 National Union of Israeli Students .

The investigation was halted Wednesday, after the men were released from Unicol County Jail to the custody of federal officials from the INS, where they face only a deportation hearing.