Israel Affairs
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JCRC Middle East Briefings
61. ANTI-SEMITISM RE-EMERGES IN EUROPE (January 30, 2002 - 17 Shvat 5762)
Recently there has been a disturbing resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe. The following article is excerpted from the Jerusalem Post, January 22, 2002.
AN UGLY RESURGENCE - by Naomi Bumenthal, Deputy Minister for National Infrastructure
In a recent piece in the London Daily Telegraph, veteran columnist Barbara Amiel described the re-emergence of anti-Semitism in European polite society.
Amiel tells the story of a private gathering at her house, at which the ambassador to London of a prominent EU member state blamed the current world crisis on "that shitty little country, Israel." The ambassador, it is related, expressed his remarks in a humorous tone, evidently confident that his fellow guests would share in the joke.
In the same article, Amiel quoted a remark by the hostess of a prominent political salon in London, to the effect that she could not stand Jews, and that everything that happened to them was their own fault.
To Israelis, seen from the vantage point of the grim struggle of attrition in which we have been locked for the past year, such utterances may seem of little consequence. One of Zionism's raisons d'etre, after all, was to bring about a situation in which Jews would no longer need to worry and ponder over every bigoted remark made by every ignorant European official. Yet the recent re-emergence and proliferation of such sentiments is a matter of deep concern to Diaspora Jews, and deserves wider attention in Israel.
This is particularly the case because, as the remarks quoted by Amiel accurately convey, the newly vociferous hostility to Jews is entirely nourished by the tones of strident criticism of Israel to be found in foreign media outlets. Such utterances are reflective of deeper streams of opinion regarding Israel, especially in Europe....
At a recent conference of Jewish parliamentarians, I was struck by stories from many of the European participants about interviewers and colleagues holding them responsible for Israeli actions widely condemned in their home countries. The prevailing tone of discussion in Europe affords an ever freer rein for the most scandalous and slanderous attacks on the Jewish people and their very right to sovereignty. Diaspora Jews, especially those prominent in public life, bear the brunt of these attacks.
This is a serious matter. It demonstrates the success of the Arab campaign of disinformation, waged with such consummate and enviable skill by the public relations mouthpieces of our opponents. Their campaign has apparently managed to link up with deeper and older attitudes toward Jews that remain present in European political culture. The success of this ugly alliance has been illustrated most graphically in recent days in the virtual news blackout in the foreign press regarding the interception of the Karine A arms ship.
Here was a most significant development. If it represents, as well it may, a Palestinian turn toward an alliance with Iran, then it is a matter of grave concern for the West as a whole. By contrast, Israel's destruction of Palestinian properties that had been used as bases for terror attacks was greeted with a deluge of coverage. Palestinian preparations for war are seemingly of less concern than Israeli acts of self defense.
A climate of delegitimization is being constructed....
It is simplistic to suppose that this trend can be neutralized merely by successful public relations. We are up against powerful and deep currents. But the truth is on our side, and must be plainly and boldly stated.
Throughout the 1990s, far-sighted Israelis and their allies sought to warn of the danger of radical Islamism. Again and again, we strove to turn the attention of the world toward the growth and proliferation of poisonous anti-Western and anti-Israel organizations and ideologies in the Middle East and in the wider Muslim world. Our opponents attempted to dismiss our concerns as scaremongering. We were even accused of anti-Muslim bigotry.
Since the terrible events of September 11, the reality has been exposed. Radical Islamism - not Islam as a whole, but a particular mutation of it - with its sworn allegiance to the methods of terror, and its tireless search for weapons of mass destruction, is the most dangerous enemy the West has faced since Soviet communism. Now, as then, Israel and the Jewish People are in the front line, alongside the whole democratic world.
And just as in those days, when the apologists and fellow travelers of Soviet communism made frequent use of deep-rooted anti-Semitic sentiments in their propaganda, so today the apologists for terrorism find easy and comfortable common cause with the enemies of the Jewish People, and in the language of anti-Semitism....
62. REVISITING THE "RIGHT OF RETURN" (February 6, 2002 - 24 Shvat 5762)
On Monday, February 4, 2002, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat wrote of the "Palestinian Vision of Peace".
In doing so, Arafat invokes the so-called "right of return" of Palestinian refugees to their former homes in Israel. He and his supporters frequently cite United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 as granting such a right. Full text of Resolution 194 can be found at http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/qpal/docs/A_RES_194.htm
U.N. RESOLUTION 194 IS A PROGRESS REPORT
U.N. Resolution 194 reports on the work of the United Nations Mediator, appointed on May 14, 1948 by General Assembly Resolution 186. The mediator was charged with arranging for the safety and well-being of the population of Palestine, assuring the protection of the Holy Places, and promoting a truce.
There are fifteen sections of U.N. Resolution 194. Only one section addresses the possible return of refugees. Sections 1-6 create tools for continuing efforts to achieve a truce in the region, including the Conciliation Commission to replace the mediator. Sections 7-10 address the internationalization and demilitarization of Jerusalem and its environs. Sections 12-15 address the functioning of the Commission.
RESOLUTION 194 DOES NOT GUARANTEE A "RIGHT OF RETURN"
11. [The General Assembly, Having considered further the situation in Palestine,]
Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.
Subsequently, on November 19, 1948, the U.N. adopted Resolution 212, which again addressed the Palestinian refugee problem. The resolution recommended a plan for funding of relief efforts for the refugees, but made no mention of their return.
Contrary to what the Palestinian leadership claims, Resolution 194 does not recognize or guarantee an unconditional "right of return".
Chairman Arafat, in his declaration in the New York Times, claimed to "understand Israel's demographic concerns" - that the influx of millions of Palestinians into Israel would fundamentally destroy the Jewish state. Even as he wrongly claims that Resolution 194 guarantees a right of return, he states that the "Palestinians must be realistic with respect to Israel's demographic desires." Resolution 194 allows for such a compromise in the form of compensation. In July 2000, Israel was prepared to participate in the provision of such compensation, but Chairman Arafat flatly refused to compromise. Following is a reprint of the Middle East Briefing #14, which further addressed the issue of Palestinian refugees.
Israel on the Palestinians' Claim of Right of Return
The Palestinians' claim of a "right of return" to Israel has become one of the most significant obstacles to a final peace agreement. The refugee issue is serious and complex, and must be understood within the context of the region's modern history.
The refugee problem began in 1947 when the Arab countries refused to accept the partition of Palestine into two states - one Jewish, one Palestinian (U.N. Resolution 181). Instead, they initiated a war which resulted in the creation of the state of Israel - and a refugee problem.
The Arab countries (except Jordan) never accepted the refugees, never absorbed them into society nor provided for their welfare. They were kept in crowded camps, where many remain over 50 years later. Conversely, Israel absorbed Jewish refugees who were forced from Arab countries, leaving behind vast property and wealth. They were never compensated, and Israel never renounced its right to submit compensation claims against the Arab countries.
The Palestinians claim that U.N. resolution 194 requires Israel to grant the refugees the right of return. The resolution, which established the U.N. Conciliation Commission for Palestine and called for the internationalization and demilitarization of Jerusalem, mentions refugees in only one of its 15 articles. A right of return for the refugees is never mentioned. Rather, it makes the return of refugees conditional on two things: 1) that the refugees are interested in living in peace with their neighbors, and 2) the return take place "at the earliest practicable date."
Experience does not weigh favorably on the first condition, and demographic and geographic conditions indicate that it is not practicable for such a large number of Arab refugees to return to Israel.
Resolution 194 calls for compensation for those who choose not to return or whose property has been destroyed or damaged. The compensation is to be provided by "the governments or authorities responsible." Israel is not specifically mentioned, and the use of plural wording indicates that, contrary to Palestinian claims, the burden of compensation does not fall solely upon Israel. Israel is not responsible for the creation of the refugee problem, nor for perpetuating it. To accept responsibility would have far-reaching implications: 1) It would encourage the arrival of millions of Palestinian refugees in the State of Israel, changing the demographics of the country in such a way as to effectively end the existence of the independent Jewish state; 2) It would be used as a basis for claims against Israel for compensation for loss of property and for 52 years of suffering; 3) It would facilitate claims by Arab "host countries" against Israel for compensation for the cost of "hosting" the refugees.
63. WHY SUPPORT ISRAEL? (February 13, 2002 - 1 Adar 5762)
The following article by Victor Davis Hanson, appeared in The National Review February 4, 2002. The entire text of the article can be found at http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson020402.shtml.
The Muslim world is mystified as to why Americans support the existence of Israel. Some critics in the Middle East excuse "the American people," while castigating our government. In their eyes, our official policy could not really reflect grassroots opinion. Others misinformed spin elaborate conspiracy theories involving the power of joint Mossad-CIA plots, Old Testament fundamentalists, international bankers, and Jewish control of Hollywood, the media, and the U.S. Congress. But why does an overwhelming majority of Americans (according to most polls, between 60 and 70% of the electorate) support Israel - and more rather than less so after September 11?
The answer is found in values...Israel is a democracy. Its opponents are not...even "parliaments" in Iran, Morocco, Jordan and on the West Bank are not truly and freely democratic. In all of them, candidates are either screened, preselected, or under coercion. Daily television and newspapers are subject to restrictions and censorship; "elected" leaders are not open to public audit and censure. There is a reason, after all, why in the last decade Americans have dealt with Mr. Netanyahu, Barak, and Sharon - and no one other than Mr. Arafat, the Husseins in Jordan, the Assads in Syria, Mr. Mubarak....Death, not voters, brings changes of rule in the Arab world.
The Arab street pronounces that it is the responsibility of the United States... to use its influence to instill democracies. They forget...that true freedom requires the blood and courage of native patriots - a Washington, Jefferson, or Thomas Paine - not outside nations; and that democracy demands some prior traditions of cultural tolerance, widespread literacy, and free markets....
Israel is also secular. The ultra-Orthodox do not run the government unless they can garner a majority of voters...In Israel...Americans detect that free speech and liberality of custom and religion are more ubiquitous than, say, in Saudi Arabia, Iran, or Palestine....
Pluralism exists in Israel, rarely so in the Arabic world. We see an Israeli peace party, spirited debate between Left and Right, and both homegrown damnation and advocacy for the settlers outside the 1967 borders. Judaism is fissured by a variety of splinter orthodoxies without gunfights. There are openly agnostic and atheistic Israeli Jews who enjoy influence in Israeli culture and politics...We know that heretical mullahs are heretical more often in London, Paris, or New York - not in Teheran or among the Taliban. No Palestinian politician would go on CNN and call for Mr. Arafat's resignation; his opposition rests among bombers, not in raucous televised debates.
Israeli newspapers and television reflect a diversity of views, from rabid Zionism to almost suicidal pacifism. There are Arab-Israeli legislators - and plenty of Jewish intellectuals who openly write and broadcast in opposition to the particular government of the day...Could a Palestinian, Egyptian, or Syrian novelist write something favorable about Golda Meir, hostile to Mr. Assad or Mubarak, or craft a systematic satire about Islam? Past experience suggests such iconoclasts and would-be critics might suffer stones and fatwas rather than mere ripostes in the letters to the editor of the local newspapers....
Americans also see ingenuity from Israel, both technological and cultural - achievement that is not reflective of genes, but rather of the culture of freedom. There are thousands of brilliant and highly educated Palestinians.
But in the conditions of the Middle East, they have little opportunity for free expression or to open a business without government bribe or tribal payoff....
Nor are Americans ignorant of the recent past...The 20th century taught Americans that some Europeans would annihilate millions of Jews - and others prove unwilling or unable to stop such a holocaust. We sensed that the first three wars in the Middle East were not fought to return the West Bank, but to finish off what Hitler could not. And we suspect now that, while hundreds of millions of Arabs would accept a permanent Israel inside its 1967 borders, a few million would not - and those few would not necessarily be restrained by those who did accept the Jewish state.
Somehow we in the American heartland sense that Israel... is a wound to the psyche, not a threat to the material condition, of the Arab world. Israel did not murder the Kurds or Shiites. It does not butcher Islam's children in Algeria. Nor did it kill over a million on the Iranian-Iraqi border - much less blow apart Afghanistan, erase from the face of the earth entire villages and their living inhabitants in Syria, or turn parts of Cairo into literal sewers.Yet both the victims and the perpetrators of those crimes against Muslims answer "Israel" to every problem. But Americans, more than any people in history, live in the present and future, not the past, loath scapegoating and the cult of victimization, and are tired of those, here and abroad, who increasingly blame others for their own self-induced pathologies.
...Europe's policy in the Middle East is based on little more than naked self-interest. If Israel were wiped out tomorrow, Europeans would ask for a brief minute of silence, then sigh relief, and without a blink roll up their sleeves to get down to trade and business.
Our seemingly idiosyncratic support for Israel, then, also says something about ourselves rather than just our ally. In brutal Realpolitik, the Europeans are right that there is nothing much to gain from aiding Israel.
Helping a few million costs us the friendship of nearly a billion. An offended Israel will snub us; but some in an irate Muslim world engineered slaughter in Manhattan. Despite our periodic tiffs, we don't fear that any frenzied Israelis will hijack an American plane or murder Marines in their sleep. No Jews are screaming at us on the evening news that we give billions collectively to Mubarak, the Jordanians, and Mr. Arafat.... Instead of railing at America, Palestinians should instead see in our policy toward Israel their future hope, rather than present despair...If the Palestinians really wished to even the score with the Israelis in American eyes, then regular elections, a free press, an open and honest economy, and religious tolerance alone would do what suicide bombers and a duplicitous terrorist leader could not.
64. THE SAUDI PEACE PLAN (February 27, 2002 - 15 Adar 5762)
Crown Prince Abdullah ibn Abdul-Aziz al-Saud has proposed a peace plan for the Middle East, as reported by Tom Friedman in The New York Times on February 17th. It has been met with interest by Israeli and American officials.
THE PLAN
The Saudi plan calls for the normalization of relations between
Israel and all of the Arab world in exchange for Israeli withdrawal
to its pre-1967 borders. This would include an agreement that
all of eastern Jerusalem serve as the capital of the new Palestinian
state. Following
Friedman's report, however, Saudi officials told Henry Siegman,
senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, that "normalization
of relations...does not preclude Israeli sovereignty over the
Western Wall in the Old City and over Jewish neighborhoods in
East Jerusalem." They also indicated to him that they "would
not object to the transfer of small areas of the West Bank to
Israel in return for qualitatively and quantitatively comparable
territory to be transferred by Israel to the Palestinians, provided
such an exchange is the result of a freely negotiated compromise." THE ISRAELI REACTION
The Israeli daily, Ha'aretz, reported that Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon expressed interest in the idea and readiness to meet with
Saudi officials. President Moshe Katsav informally invited Crown
Prince Abdullah to Jerusalem to detail the proposal and indicated
that, if invited, he would visit Saudi Arabia. Other reports indicate
that Israeli leaders are cautiously considering the proposal
while seeking more detail. THE PALESTINIAN REACTION
According to the Arab Media Internet Network, the Palestinians
believe the Saudi initiative reflects the same plan as was endorsed
at the Arab summit in Morocco in 1982 - a two-state solution.
The report also states that Arafat immediately endorsed the Saudi
initiative because he believes it reflects the same vision he
put forth in The New York Times almost a month ago. The Jerusalem
Post reported that Arafat's endorsement of the plan "included
a call to allow Israel to retain sovereignty over the Western
Wall and the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City." THE AMERICAN REACTION
According to the U.S. State Department, the U.S. government views
the proposal as a "significant positive step." Spokesman
Richard Boucher said that "the crucial first step remains
for Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to make every
effort to arrest terrorists and to dismantle the terrorist organizations
that continue to carry out attacks against Israel." THE EUROPEAN UNION AND RUSSIAN REACTION Janier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, planned to meet
with Crown Prince Abdullah on Wednesday in previously unscheduled
talks. The trip to Saudi Arabia was scheduled after Solana heard
positive responses from the Palestinians and some Israeli officials. A French
initiative calls for discussions on a Palestinian state in areas
of the West Bank and Gaza Strip already under Palestinian control,
followed immediately by recognition by foreign governments and
then elections. The Russian
Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, said that Moscow backed the plan.
At the same time, he indicated that Russia would be prepared
to offer its own initiative "if the development of the Middle
East situation requires [it]...." THE EGYPTIAN REACTION According to Ha'aretz, Egypt was surprised by the disclosure
of the Saudi plan to Friedman. Cairo understood that a Saudi
statement would outline the situation that should exist in the
region at the end of the peace process, but they did not attach
any particular importance to it. 65. WHY DANIEL PEARL DIED (March 14, 2002 - 1 Nisan 5762) The following
column by Richard Cohen appeared in the Washington Post on Feb.
26, 2002. Cohen has been a Washington Post columnist since 1976. "Ah,
Co-hane," the PLO official said, examining my passport and
pronouncing my name in the Hebrew manner. This was Beirut and
I was asking permission to visit the PLO-controlled refugee camps
in the south of Lebanon. "Co-hane," the official repeated.
I held my breath. Finally,
he looked up. "You are most welcome," he said. The
"issue" was never mentioned again. But the "issue"
was most certainly raised with Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street
Journal reporter who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan.
We may never know precisely why Pearl was snatched and killed -
whether it was because he was
a Westerner, an American, a reporter, a Jew or some combination
of them all. But until we know better, we must take his killers
at their word. Pearl was kidnapped because he was "anti-Islam
and a Jew." So said
Fahad Naseem, a suspect in the case. Nothing I know about Pearl
suggests he was anti-Islam. But he was most definitely a Jew.
According to some accounts, on a videotape that the killers made
of what apparently were Pearl's last moments, he was forced to
say, "I am a Jew. My mother is a Jew." Well, so
is mine. And I am an American and a journalist as well, so you
can understand why I am consumed with anger and sadness at the
death of this young man whose widow is carrying his child. But
I don't think I am being irrational when I say that the hideous
murder of Daniel Pearl was not just the work of "barbarians"
- the phrase du jour to describe his killers - but the
inevitable result of policy. Throughout the once-tolerant Islamic
world, anti-Semitism - hatred of Jews - has become both common
and acceptable. To some,
this will seem unsurprising. After all, there is a connection
between Judaism and Zionism. But while most Zionists are Jews,
not all Jews are Zionists - and even those who are pro-Israel
are not the subhuman caricatures of the Islamic world's anti-Semitic
media. This caricature - devious, diabolical, intent on world
domination and in total control of the world's financial system
- appears so often in the Islamic world's press that it can be,
and maybe was, used to justify the murder of an innocent man.
Throughout the region, the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11 were
blamed on either Jews or Zionists. One prominent Egyptian newspaper,
al-Ahram,
flat-out said the attack was the work of "the Jews and the
Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad." Other newspapers reported
that no Jews went to work that day, or that Jews were seen cheering
the collapse of the buildings. The Saudi
newspaper al-Watan ran a two-part series back in December headlined
"The Jewish Sense of Superiority in the World." It
revealed, as anti-Semites have over and over again, the secret
plans of the Jews to "implement their strategic hellish
plans to take over the world." Just precisely
how these all-powerful and devilishly clever people were somehow
nearly exterminated during the Nazi era might present something
of a problem to anti-Semites. Not to worry: The Holocaust never
happened. Last year,
for instance, the often-lauded Qatar television channel al-Jazeera
held a panel discussion titled "Is Zionism worse than Nazism?"
Some prominent Holocaust deniers were
allowed to participate. Of course, both sides of the question
were presented. The standard
response from the respective governments when the issue of anti-Semitism
is raised is that a free press can sometimes be a pain. But none
of these governments permits a free press. The Saudis certainly
don't, and while the Egyptians make a pretense of press freedom,
the fact remains that the editors of the leading dailies are
appointed by the government. Just six
days after Sept. 11, President Bush went to Washington's Islamic
Center to send a message: "Islam is peace." He distinguished
between the perverted and perfidious religious zealotry of Osama
bin Laden and mainstream Islam. "The face of terror is not
the true face
of Islam," the president said. Te decency,
the guts, to make a similar repudiation of bigotry are precisely
what is lacking in most Islamic or Arab leaders. Neither the
Saudi not the Egyptian regimes slap down their local anti-Semites,
and neither, of course, does Yasser Arafat, whose own organization
has trafficked in vile stereotypes of the sort once used by the
Nazis. I could
be that Daniel Pearl would have been killed no matter what. It
could be that it was enough that he was American. But is was
not his nationality that seemed to matter to his captors; it
was his religion. Anti-Semitic kidnappers killed Pearl. Cowardly
governments enabled it to happen. 66. OUR RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT VIOLENCE (April 2002) Israel,
as any state, is obligated to take all measures necessary to
protect its citizens from terrorism. After September 11, Americans
understand this reality more than ever. The oft-repeated
charge that Israel is using excessive force against innocent
Palestinian civilians is a distortion of the truth. Israeli
soldiers and civilians alike have had to face thousands of organized,
violent and life-threatening attacks by Palestinians, only a
small percentage of which get reported in the media. These attacks
have included riots, lynchings, machine-gun fire directed at
residential neighborhoods, fire-bombings, roadside charges and
ambushes, mortar barrages, suicide bombers and car bombs in crowded
shopping areas. As a result
of this violence, well over 300 Israelis have been killed and
thousands wounded in the past 18 months. [Proportionate to Israel's
population, this is equivalent to over 15,000 Americans.] Under
these difficult conditions, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has
acted with the utmost restraint, targeting only those responsible
for the violence, and doing its best to prevent collateral civilian
injury or loss of life. It must be remembered that Palestinian
terrorists intentionally operate in or near crowded Palestinian
population centers in order to hamper Israeli counter terrorism
operations. Israel has no interest in escalating the violence.
On the contrary,
Israel believes it is imperative that the violence ends so that
both parties can return to constructive negotiations. Israel
maintains that a just and sustainable solution can be found only
through dialogue, not armed conflict. Israel and
the United States are strategic allies in the war on terrorism.
For this reason, President Bush placed Hamas, Hizbollah, and
Islamic Jihad on the U.S. State Department list of terrorist
organizations. The Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade is expected to be
added soon as well. America's effort to root out terrorists
in Afghanistan in response to the attack on the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon is no different than Israel's response to the
repeated acts of terrorism committed against Israeli civilians.
Both the United States and Israel are defending their freedom
and security. Terrorism is terrorism, no matter where it occurs.
As President
Bush stated, "Our war on terror begins with al-Qaida, but
it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist
group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated." There is no moral equivalency between Palestinian terror attacks
against Israeli civilians and Israel's Counter Terrorism Measures. The
expression "cycle of violence," often used by the media
and world leaders, to describe what has been taking place between
Israel and the Palestinians these last 18 months distorts reality.
Palestinian terrorists target Israeli civilians, seeming to
choose locations like restaurants and clubs where there are many
young people, as a strategy to achieve their political goals.
If Palestinian terror were halted, this would end the violence.
Arafat has
not acted against Palestinian terrorists. On the contrary, he
and organizations under his command have become the main perpetrators
of the violence. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority have repeatedly
refused to fulfill their basic obligations under previously signed
agreements. They are not arresting those responsible for terrorism.
Even when
arrests have been made, there has been a "revolving door,"
with the detained individuals released at a later time. Illegal
weapons have not been confiscated. Bomb making factories and
other features of the terrorist infrastructure have not been
dismantled. Incitement in the official Palestinian media, and
in mosques and schools, has continued unabated. After September
11, when President George W. Bush announced to world leaders
that they were either "with us or against us" in the
war on terrorism, Arafat had a golden opportunity to take a stand
against terrorism in territory under his control. Instead, he
supported an intensification of terror against Israel. In January
of this year, Arafat and the Palestinian Authority were responsible
for the attempted smuggling of 50 tons of weapons - including
explosives used by suicide bombers - into Gaza aboard the Karine-A.
Most terrorist attacks in recent months have been carries out
by PLO factions subject to Arafat's authority - Al-Aqsa Martyr's
Brigade, Tanzim and Force 17. Israel's
goal is not out to bring down Arafat or the Palestinian Authority,
but to end the violence and to find Palestinian leaders with
whom it can negotiate peace. Since 1993, Israel had hoped to
work with the PA and its leadership to control violence and negotiate
a peace agreement based on the Oslo Accords and UN Security Council
Resolutions 242 and 338. Israel remains committed to working
with any responsible Palestinian partner to achieve these aims.
Israel already has proved that it is prepared to make significant
compromises to achieve peace with the Palestinian people. Former Prime
Minister Ehud Barak was ready at Camp David in July 2000 to accept
a Palestinian state in over 95% of the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
and Palestinian control over most Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
Arafat did not even make a counter offer and instead launched
the wave of violence that has come to be known as the Al-Aqsa
Intifada. Former chief U.S. Middle East negotiator Ambassador
Dennis Ross has said that Arafat made a "strategic decision"
not to conclude a peace agreement with Israel. Israel has
a right to live within safe and secure borders. No Israeli government
can agree to go back to the indefensible pre-1967 borders, which
would leave the tiny state (about the size of New Jersey) vulnerable
to attack. UN resolution 242, which was drafted in 1967 after
Israel acquired the West Bank and Gaza Strip in a war of self-defense,
does not demand that Israel withdraw from all of the territories;
rather it calls for, "withdrawal of Israeli armed forced
from territories occupied in the recent conflict." The
authors of the resolution intentionally left out the word "the"
before "territories" to insure that Israel not be forced
to withdraw from areas that would compromise future "secure"
borders. The Saudi
peace initiative, which was discussed and adopted at the Arab
summit of March 27, may make a positive contribution if Arab
leadership begins to stress the need to end terrorism and to
negotiate a reasonable political settlement with Israel. While
statements by Saudi officials expressing a readiness to recognize
Israel following resolution of the Palestinian issue is a positive
development, there are many details that have to be examined.
Most important, the initiative does not address the problem
of Palestinian violence especially suicide bombings, which must
be halted before any productive negotiations can begin to take
place. UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 can and should
serve as the "basis" for negotiations, but Israel,
as explained above, cannot be expected to return to the pre-1967
boundaries. There also is no clarity with respect to the Palestinian
refugee "right of return." Arab leaders must begin
to make it clear to the millions of refugees that they will not
be permitted to come into Israel en masse. This would destroy
Israel as a Jewish state. As U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
stated, the Saudi initiative "is not a solution in and of
itself, it just adds something to the equation." Anti-Semitism
in the Arab-Muslim world poisons the atmosphere for peace and
places Jews at risk everywhere. Widespread anti-Semitism in
the Arab/Muslim world is fostering a climate that encourages
assaults against Jews in Israel, in France and in other parts
of the world. It also leads to the kind of anti-Semitic and
anti-Zionist spectacle, which took place at the World Conference
against Racism last summer in Durban. The Arab press is rife
with portrayals of Jews as evil bloodthirsty monsters. A mainstream
Saudi newspaper, Al-Riyadh, recently carried a story accusing
Jews of killing Christians and Muslims to drain their blood in
order to make Purim pastries. Arab leadership must repudiate
anti-Semitism for peace to become a reality. We welcome
the points made by President Bush in his address of April 4th.
We believe Israel has a right to defend itself and to complete
its military initiative. 67. MARWAN HATIV BARGHOUTI (April 2002) On
Monday, April 15, 2002, the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency
arrested Marwan Barghouti, along with his cousin and aide Ahmed
Barghouti, in Ramallah. Barghouti is head of the Tanzim, the
armed wing of the Fatah; the Secretary General of Fatah in the
West Bank; and a founder and senior commander of Al-Aqsa Martyrs'
Brigade. Both terrorist organizations are affiliated with Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat' PLO. The following information
came from Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International
Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism. Additional information
can be found at http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/home.asp
and at http://www.ict.org.il/. Born
in 1959 to one of the leading families of Ramallah, Barghouti
served as student council president at Bir Zeit University. As
a student leader he was one of the organizers of the Intifada
in 1987. He was arrested and spent two years in an Israeli prison
before being expelled from the West Bank. In exile he served
at the PLO headquarters in Tunisia, close to Chairman Arafat,
and in 1989 he was the youngest member elected to the Fatah Revolutionary
Council. Barghouti
returned to the West Bank in 1994 after the signing of the Oslo
agreement. In the first election for the Palestinian Legislative
Council in 1996 he was elected as a representative of the Ramallah
region. Throughout the 1990s, he was a prominent proponent for
dialogue with Israelis, meeting often with journalists, Israeli
politicians from the left and peace groups. Barghouti
built the Tanzim, "the organization," in the local
party branches, drawing its membership from young people who
were not given government jobs or jobs in the PA security apparatus.
He organized them into a kind of militia and civil guard, providing
some basic training and a mission to patrol neighborhoods against
crime. From 1997 to 1999, the Tanzim focused on corruption in
the PA, holding protest rallies against perceived bureaucratic
injustices and corrupt officials. Barghouti
is seen as a leader of the people, for the people, mainly due
to his criticism of the corruption in the PA executive authority.
In June 1998, for example, Barghouti publicly criticized Arafat's
decision to re-appoint six ministers to his cabinet after they
were named by a Palestinian Legislative Council report on corruption.
He has also been critical of the abuses of power in the PA security
apparatus, which was seen by many as veiled criticism of Arafat. Barghouti's
rising star has been watched by Arafat's circles with some trepidation,
and Arafat has made some attempts to "take him down a peg"
by encouraging rivalries. However, Barghouti's popularity is
high, particularly with the popular constituency of the Tanzim.
As long as he professes loyalty to Arafat, his value to Arafat
still continues to outweigh any potential threat to Arafat's
authority. In the last election for General Secretary of Fatah
in the West Bank, Barghouti lost to his opponent, Hussein Al-Sheikh.
Yasser Arafat canceled the results of the elections. Barghouti
is responsible for some of the more heinous terror attacks against
Israeli civilians, including the January 17, 2002 shooting attack
during a bat mitzva celebration at a banquet hall in Hadera.
He is responsible for the death of at least 14 innocent Israeli
civilians and the injury of at least 100. In
the framework of his activities, Barghouti has received large
amounts of funds from sources in the Palestinian Authority, of
which the specific allocations were authorized by the actual
signature of Yasser Arafat. These funds were used by Barghouti
to finance many activities carried out by terror cells in the
West Bankhttp://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0lk70.
Several documents were seized during Operation Defensive Shield, which
link Barghouti to terrorist activities. One of these documents
is a letter from Marwan Barghouti to Yasser Arafat, requesting
financial support for wanted terrorists: Honored
Comrade President Abu Amar [alias for Yasser Arafat] - may Allah
watch over him, With
blessings for a return to our homeland I
request your Excellency's decision to allocate $3,000 as assistance
for each of the brothers listed below, who are wanted by the
occupation authorities and are entitled to help:
The matter is for your consideration.
May you be a symbol of our homeland and our nation forever
The Supreme Committee for Movement Affairs
Marwan Al Barghouti
68. THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY (April 24, 2002 - 12 Iyar 5762)
Oneof the current focal points of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is the stand-off at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Following is background on the Church from the Israel Foreign Ministry http://www.israel.org/ and http://www.israelemb.org/. The Church of the Nativity has become a bastion of Moslem 'holy warriors.' On April 2, 2002, approximately two hundred Palestinians, many of them known terrorists, shot down the front door of the Church of the Nativity and have taken up positions in one of Christianity's most sacred sites. This type of behavior not only constitutes a desecration of holy sites and displays scorn for those of Christian faith, but is also in violation of international law.
The Government of Israel is committed to safety of clergy held hostage inside the church by Palestinian terrorists and the church itself. Israel Defense Forces have been ordered not to fire upon or violate the sanctity of this holy shrine, even if they are fired upon from these sites.
The Palestinians have hijacked the Church of the Nativity precisely because they know that the Israeli army will not fire upon the church. This was true even when two Israeli border-policemen were wounded by Palestinian gunmen who opened fire from the Church of the Nativity compound and threw hand grenades at Israeli soldiers in the area of Manger Square. While operations are being conducted in its vicinity, the Church has remained unaffected, despite the confirmed presence of armed Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Tanzim terrorists inside the sanctuary.
LEGAL PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORIST PENETRATION AND ARMED COMBAT IN HOLY PLACES
...Places of worship are offered special protection in accordance with international law. The penetration of armed terrorists into churches and other places of a religious character for the purpose of hiding out and/or carrying out acts of hostility, are a gross abuse of the immunity and the special protection granted to such places. Such acts are grave breaches of the First Additional Protocol (1977) to the Geneva Conventions, and constitute war crimes by any standard of international humanitarian law.
The presence of armed combatants and terrorists who do not distinguish themselves from the civilian population, and the deliberate perpetration of hostile acts from within places of worship constitute grave violations of the rights of the clergy residing in such buildings. These actions endanger the protected status of such buildings in which the armed terrorists hide out, and turn the places into a legitimate "military objective", for as long as the armed terrorists continue to abuse the immunity of these buildings. This conduct directly endangers the lives and security of religious personnel and civilians residing, working or worshipping in these areas. It constitutes a fundamental breach of the requirement that combatants distinguish themselves from civilians, pursuant to the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention in particular, and international law in general.
Finally, the armed terrorists are holding religious officials in the Church as hostages, to shield themselves from military attacks. This conduct constitutes a war crime in accordance with international law, and is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols.
TERRORISTS IN THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY
Ibrahim Musa Salem Abyat "Abu Galif": born 1973, resident of Bethlehem, is a prominent Tanzim operative who heads a military cell. He is the successor of Hasin and Atef Abyat (deceased), involved in the firing of mortars at the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. He was responsible for the following terrorist attacks: June 2001: the murder of IDF officer Yehuda Edri; September 2001: the murder of Sarit Amrani; January 2002: the murder of Avi Boaz.
Abdallah Daud Mahmud A'a-Kader/Tirawi: born 1962, heads the Palestinian general intelligence service in Bethlehem. Originally from the Balattah refugee camp in Nablus, he is a very close disciple of Tawfik Tirawi. A'a-Kader has been involved in the organization and execution of multiple terrorist attacks, as well as produced explosives, was involved in the smuggling of weaponry and provided shelter to operatives of other terrorist organizations. A'a-Kader fully collaborates with senior Tanzim operatives, mainly Ibrahim Abu Gali`f. Both are responsible for the shooting attacks against Gilo and the Bethlehem bypass roads.
Jihad Yousouf Halil Ja'ara: born in 1971 and a resident of Bethlehem, Ja'ara is a Tanzim operative and member of the Palestinian security forces. He has been continuously involved in terrorist attacks targeted at IDF forces and Israeli civilians. Regularly firing at IDF forces and targets in Gilo, Ja'ara is also a dealer of weaponry to Tanzim operatives in the Bethlehem area, as well as responsible for sheltering wanted suspects. He has condoned the suicide attacks in the media and has even provided his cell phone for the use by terrorists.
Ismail Musa Muhammad Hamdan: born 1968 and a resident of Bethlehem, Hamdan is a Tanzim operative and a member of Ibrahim Abu Gali`f's cell. Hamdan was involved in dozens of shooting attacks against Gilo. He perpetrated some of the most heinous terrorist attacks, including: June 2001: the murder of IDF officer Yehuda Edri; September 2001: the murder of Sarit Amrani; January 2002: the murder of Avi Boaz.
Nidal Ahmad Isa Abu Gali'f: born 1973, Abu Gali'f is a resident of Bethlehem. He perpetrated shooting attacks against Gilo and the Bethlehem bypass roads and was involved in the production of explosives. Abu Gali'f is currently the senior assistant of Yihia Da'amsa, who is responsible for many terrorist attacks, such as the suicide attacks in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Israel and the supermarket in Kiryat Yovel.
Muhammad Sai'd Attallah Salem: born 1979 and a resident of the Dehaishe refugee camp, Salem is senior Tanzim operative under the command of Yihya Da'amsa. Salem was involved in planning and dispatching suicide attacks in the neighborhood of Beit Israel on March 2, 2000 and the supermarket in Kiryat Yovel in Jerusalem, on March 29, 2002.
Kamel Hassan Hamid: born 1963 and the Fatah General Secretary in Bethlehem; Hamid is responsible for the financing of the Tanzim operations in Bethlehem, including the purchase of weaponry and explosives. Hamid is in direct contact with Marwan Barguti and responsible for disbursing funds to the terrorist operatives.
Ibrahim Muhammad Salem Abyat: born 1961 and a resident of Bethlehem, Abyat is a senior Hamas operative; is in charge of organizing terrorist Hamas activity.
Basem Muhammed Ibrahim Hamud: born in 1972 and a resident of Bethlehem, Hamud is a Hamas terrorist operative. He was involved in the preparation of explosives and dispatched Taleb Harmes and Ahmad Abada, who intercepted en route to committing a suicide attack in Jerusalem's Binyanei Hau`ma Convention Center.
Aziz Halil Muhammad Abyat Jubran: born 1971, and a resident of Bethlehem, Jubran is a Hamas operative. He works with Basem Hamud; produces explosive charges and was also dispatched Harmas and Abda in the aforementioned foiled Jerusalem suicide attack.
69. JENIN (May 2, 2002 - 19 Iyar 5762)
There is currently a great deal of interest in trying to determine exactly what has taken place during Israel's recent military operation in Jenin. Palestinians are claiming that a "massacre" has taken place, and the United Nations has planned to send a fact-finding mission there to make an assessment. In the last couple of weeks, journalists have entered Jenin and have begun reporting on the situation there. Below are excerpts from several recent reports (emphasis added).
U.S., The Boston Globe: "Claims of massacre go unsupported by Palestinian fighters" By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff and Dan Ephron, Globe Correspondent, 4/29/2002
JENIN, West Bank - Palestinian Authority allegations that a large-scale massacre of civilians was committed by Israeli troops during their invasion of the refugee camp here appear to be crumbling under the weight of eyewitness accounts from Palestinian fighters who participated in the battle and camp residents who remained in their homes until the final hours of the fighting.
In interviews yesterday with teenage fighters, a leader of Islamic Jihad, an elderly man whose home was at the center of the fighting, and other Palestinian residents, all of whom were in the camp during the battle, none reported seeing large numbers of civilians killed. All said they were allowed to surrender or evacuate when they were ready to do so, though some reported being mistreated while in Israeli detention...
Israel says that those Palestinians killed in the Jenin battle were almost all fighters, that none were buried in mass graves, and that ample chance was given to fighters to surrender and for civilians to leave. It initially estimated the death toll at 100 to 200, and has since revised that toll downward to 50...
In contrast with allegations by some Palestinians and Amnesty investigators, [Munir] Arsam [a 15-year old member of Islamic Jihad] said women and children were able to evacuate the camp before the climactic battle began. Even at the height of the struggle, fighters were able to put down their weapons and surrender...
''They destroyed all the houses in Hawashin,'' he said, describing a now-demolished neighborhood in the camp. ''I was in the last house, and they called out, `Surrender or we will fire at you.' There were only two of us, so we left, and they destroyed the house.''...Asked if he felt any massacre had occurred, Arsam said: ''We killed them and they killed us, but we were victorious.''
Abdel Rahman Sa'adi, 14, another Islamic Jihad grenade-thrower, said, "...They told all the small kids to just leave, and they let all the women go after they checked their bags...None of them were kept for questioning.'' ...This was a massacre of the Jews, not of us.'' Prompted by bystanders, he revised his statement. ''I think there was a massacre here - maybe 100 people,'' he said.
...[Khalid Mohammed] Taleb [70]... said several times that no civilians were killed, but after repeated questioning from reporters and bystanders, he said: ''Well, maybe one or two. It was a big battle.'' Was it a massacre? ''Perhaps,'' he said. ''Both sides lost.''....
A spokesman for the Israeli army asserted, meanwhile, that Palestinians were moving bodies of people not killed in the Jenin fighting into graveyards around the camp ''to score points with the UN committee due to arrive to investigate the happenings in the Jenin refugee camp.'' The military said this charge was based on information received from Israeli intelligence agencies, and refused to elaborate.
Canada, The Globe and Mail: "What really happened? The myth of Jenin grows" By Marcus Gee, Saturday, April 27, 2002 - Print Edition, Page A17
...What really happened in Jenin? Less, it would seem, than the original hysterics suggest. About 50 bodies have been found in the rubble. Israel says that perhaps 80 Palestinians were killed in all, and that most were armed fighters, not civilians.
Early reports that said the Israelis had leveled Jenin appear to have been exaggerated. Aerial photographs show that the devastated vistas described in news reports represent an area about 100 meters square, a small corner of the camp.
As for the infamous Israeli massacre, reporters who visited Jenin trying to document it came up empty-handed. The New York Times did dozens of interviews and found "no solid evidence of large-scale, deliberate killing of civilians." The Washington Post said "no evidence has surfaced to support allegations by Palestinian groups and aid organizations of large-scale massacres or executions by Israeli troops."
Did Palestinian civilians die in Jenin? Undoubtedly, and every lost life is a cause for sorrow. But who was really to blame for their deaths? Israel did not go into Jenin for nothing. Palestinian extremists from hate-mongering groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad had turned it into a launching pad for terror attacks on Israel. Before the Israeli invasion, the camp was a warren of bomb-making factories and terrorist hideouts...
If Israel were as ruthless as its critics say, it would have done to Jenin what the Russians did to the Chechen capital of Grozny. It would have used its superior firepower and pounded the place to rubble with warplanes, tanks and artillery. Instead, Israel sent its soldiers into the narrow and dangerous streets to search house by house -- a tactic that reduced civilian casualties but put its own men in extreme danger...
Only after those deaths did the army send in bulldozers to knock down the booby-trapped buildings where terrorists were hiding, and even then it made frequent announcements by loud-hailer that civilians would be allowed to leave, as some did. That is considerably more than Hamas does when it dispatches killers to blow themselves up in Israeli buses, banquet halls and cafés. Yet militant leaders have the gall to blame Israel for attacking non-combatants.
...But nothing so far supports the myth of atrocity and massacre that sprang like a wraith from the rubble of the camp. If anyone is to blame for the destruction visited on Jenin, it is not the Israelis, who are fighting a just, defensive war against terrorism and hate. It is the Palestinian militants who turned Jenin into a terror base and, when the Israelis came to get them, hid among civilians for protection.
Great Britain, BBC News: "Expert weighs up Jenin 'massacre'" Interview with Major David Holley, British Territorial Army and military adviser to Amnesty International, April 29, 2002
So what leads you to the conclusion that there was no massacre?
..."What we have got here is possibly 54 bodies found so far, with possibly 20 or 30 unaccounted for but we can't really verify these figures until the whole site is cleared. Talking to people and talking to witnesses, even very credible witnesses, it just appears there was no wholesale killing. Clearly the... civilians who died in the battle were caught in crossfire...."
... Why is the Israeli Government objecting to the make-up of the fact-finding team?
"I think Israel has a very valid point. The UN team was going to be made up of UN civil servants, and I think you would then get a very one-sided view of what happened in Jenin. I think it is important that you do have military men and anti-terrorist experts on that UN commission. I think it is unfair for a lawyer to go to Jenin to then build up a military picture of what happened. You do need a soldier's perspective to say, well, this was a close quarter battle in an urban environment, unfortunately soldiers will make mistakes and will throw a hand grenade through the wrong window, will shoot at a twitching curtain, because that is the way war is."
70. Washington Misled: Saudi Arabia's Financial Backing of Terrorism (May 8, 2002 - 26 Iyar 5762)
Documents captured during operation Defensive Shield prove that Saudi Arabia transferred funds to families of Palestinian terrorists and suicide bombers. The same committee who supervised this transfer of money recently held a telethon to aid families of terrorists, raising $109 million. Below is an analysis from the May 6, 2002 Jerusalem Issue Brief of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, http://www.jcpa.org.
As a result of Israel's Operation "Defensive Shield," new documents have been uncovered from Palestinian offices that directly link the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with financial backing of terrorist attacks against Israel. The Saudis have repeatedly denied such connections.
Last month, for example, Saudi state television held a telethon for the families of "Palestinian martyrs" that raised over $100 million.
Responding to charges that with the telethon Saudi Arabia was backing terrorism, Adel Al-Jubeir, foreign policy adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, told Fox television: "We have made it very clear in terms of where Saudi funding has gone to provide humanitarian assistance to the families who have suffered as a result of the Israeli occupation and the recent Israeli aggression." Adel Al-Jubeir added: "We do not support suicide bombers.
Our objective is to put food on people's tables and medicine in their pharmacies" (Fox News, April 28, 2002). Earlier in the month, the U.S. government was apparently given similar assurances by the Saudis.
Thus, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer responded to a press briefing on April 12 by saying: "As I said, we have received assurances from the Saudi Arabian government that the money is going to the Palestinian people, and not to support terrorism."
Fleisher was sufficiently confident about Saudi assurances that he even compared the Saudi aid from the telethon to U.S. financial assistance to the Palestinian people.
One new Saudi document found in Palestinian offices demonstrates that the Saudis were not providing general humanitarian aid as they told the U.S. government and explained to American television audiences.
Riyadh had misled Washington, for the Saudis itemized their allocations line by line, detailing the circumstances of the death of Palestinians whose families received assistance; the Saudis themselves explain that the allocation was for suicide attacks.
Rewarding Suicide Bombers Among the documents found in Tulkarm was a table from Saudi Arabia itemizing the tenth set of payments to the "Martyrs of the Al-Aqsa Intifada."
The table details how $545,000 was allocated to 102 families.
The logo at the top of the table reads: "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Committee for Aid to the Al-Quds Intifada."
This committee was established in the fall of 2000 under the Saudi Minister of the Interior, Prince Nayef bin 'Abd al-Aziz. Prince Nayef's organization was also responsible for collecting Saudi contributions during the April 11 telethon for Palestinian "martyrs" on Saudi state television.
The table explains the type of activity that entitled a family to receive Saudi assistance:
According to the document, Abd al-Fatah Muhammad Musalah Rashid, number 15 on the list, died in a "martyrdom act." The individual involved was a member of the pro-Iranian Islamic Jihad who died in a car-bomb attack at Beit Lid on September 9, 2001, for which he was responsible. Eight Israelis were wounded.
Abd al-Karim Amr Muhammad Abu Na'sa, who appears as number 17 in the Saudi table, is described as having died in a "martyrdom act in Afula." This is a reference to his suicide bombing on behalf of Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Afula on November 27, 2001. Forty-six Israelis were wounded.
There is no doubt that when the document refers to a "martyrdom act" - amliyya itishaddiyya - it is referring to suicide attacks. A martyr, or "shahid" in Arabic, is an individual who gave his life in a holy war - or in a Jihad - and is therefore entitled to automatic entry into Paradise after his death, according to Islamic tradition. The term "martyr" has thus become synonymous with suicide bombers or those who died attacking Israelis. Israel has been able to determine that at least eight of the beneficiaries of Saudi aid are the families of suicide bombers.
Other "martyrs" on the Saudi list may not have been suicide bombers, but were well known for their past involvement in terrorism. Thus, number 68, Mahmud Abu Hanud, was the commander of Hamas for the West Bank. Number 8, Atef Abiyat, commanded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Bethlehem. His name was well known to those who engaged in peace process matters since Yasser Arafat promised the European Union that he was in prison while he moved about freely until his death. When a potential suicide bomber knows that his family will be handsomely rewarded with financial aid after his death, his motivation to undertake suicide operations increases. Thus, Saudi aid promotes terrorism directly. Implications of Israeli Revelations about Saudi Arabia for the U.S. War on Terrorism
First Evidence of Direct Saudi Aid to Terrorism: Prior to the discovery of the Saudi document, attempts to trace the Saudi money trail in backing international terrorism focused on Saudi-backed charities. For example, on March 11, 2002, the U.S. Treasury identified the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, based in Saudi Arabia, as an organization with which U.S. citizens are prohibited from making any transactions because of its suspected support for terrorism. Al-Haramain receives millions of dollars per year from the Saudi government; some of this aid may indirectly reach terrorist organizations. The Saudi documents found with the Palestinians point to a direct link between Saudi funds and suicide bombing attacks.
Saudis Not Involved in Humanitarian Aid but Rather in Assistance to Recognized International Terrorist Groups: The specificity of the Saudi table allows the Saudis to monitor in detail the identity of each recipient family. Matching the names in the table to its own information, Israel was able to link suicide bombers with specific organizations - Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - that have been declared by the U.S. to be indisputable international terrorist organizations. Had there just been a Saudi grant for families who had lost relatives, without the details of the table, then Saudi advocates could argue that the money was provided as general aid to the Palestinian people.
The official Saudi table itemizing allocations to the families of "martyrs" was not the only document found by Israel in Palestinian offices during Operation "Defensive Shield."
According to additional captured documents, which were Palestinian intelligence reports, the Saudis also transferred direct aid to Palestinian Islamic terrorist groups - both to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.1 Saudi Arabian financial aid to terrorist groups is not just an Israeli problem.
During October 2001, NATO forces entered the offices of the Saudi High Commission for Aid to Bosnia. Surveillance photographs of possible American targets were found.
A former employee of the Saudi Commission is now in Guantanamo Bay, suspected of plotting an attack against the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo. Saudi-sponsored charities have been tied to other terrorist attacks, including the U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa in 1998.2 Unless Saudi Arabia ceases all assistance, direct or indirect, for acts of international terrorism, it cannot play any role to stabilize the Middle East and advance Arab-Israeli peace.
1 Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dan Naveh, "The Involvement of Arafat, PA Senior Officials, and Apparatuses in Terrorism Against Israel, Corruption, and Crime," May 2002, p. 67.
2 Matthew Levitt, Senior Fellow, "Tackling the Financing of Terrorism in Saudi Arabia," in Policywatch, No. 609, March 11, 2002, Washington Institute of Near East Policy. Dore Gold, Publisher; Mark Ami-El, Managing Editor. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (Registered Amuta), 13 Tel-Hai St., Jerusalem, Israel; Tel. 972-2-5619281, Fax. 972-2-5619112, Email: jcpa@netvision.net.il.
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