Terrorism's New Backers

By Matt Rees and Jamil Hamad

Terrorist attacks in Israel are increasingly funded by two radical Islamic groups that have long been at odds with Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction: Hamas and Islamic Jihad. They began financial support for Fatah gunmen and suicide bombers about six months ago, but according to senior Palestinian security sources, the money has recently begun flowing more freely. This is not just bad news for Israel's security services, already facing a constant deluge of alerts and attacks. It is also a blow to Arafat's Palestinian Authority, which particularly fears losing influence over the gunmen to Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad. It was that group that claimed responsibility for the attack on Israeli settlers and soldiers in Hebron Friday evening that killed at least a dozen people.

The financial support is also a sign that ideology has been swamped by the chaos of the intifadeh and the rise of a gangster class of guns for hire. Officials from Hamas and the Palestinian Authority met in Cairo last week to discuss an agreement to end suicide bombings. But Arafat canceled plans to send his usual troubleshooter, Palestine Liberation Organization Secretary-General Mahmoud Abbas, and sent lower-level officials instead. Hamas responded by pulling back its top man, Khaled Meshaal. Even the limited progress reported at the meeting was condemned in a communique issued in Gaza by Hamas and Islamic Jihad--joined, significantly, by the Ahmed Abu Reesh Brigades and the Salahuddin Brigades, both splinter militias of Fatah. --By Matt Rees and Jamil Hamad