Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special
Studies (C.S.S)

Special Information Bulletin July 2004
www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/8_04/hezbollah.htm

Hezbollah publicly admits supporting Palestinian terrorists in the
Palestinian Administration-administered territories. Following the death of
Ghaleb Awali, who directed Palestinian terrorist activists, Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah publicly admitted for the first time that his organization
supported Palestinian terrorists. Lebanon reacted with harsh criticism. The
Palestinian terrorist organizations held a memorial ceremony for Awali in
Gaza and praised his support of the armed Palestinian insurgence.

Hassan Nasrallah's admission of Hezbollah support of Palestinian terrorism

1.Since the Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon (May 24, 2000), Hezbollah
has invested much time and effort in operating Palestinian terrorists in the
PA-administered territories and within Israel . Support of Palestinian
terrorists helps Hezbollah maintain its belligerent, jihad -like character
and provides ways of overcoming the difficulties imposed on its operations
through the Israeli-Lebanese border. In addition, for Hezbollah (and Iran
and Syria, which support and aid the organization), continuing and even
inflaming the violent confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians is
an extremely important strategic tool in undermining Israel's social and
political stability, and is considered a potential means of extorting
concessions from Israel.

2.Until recently, Hezbollah was careful to play down the aid it gave
Palestinian terrorists and certainly never boasted of it in public. However,
after the death of Awali (July 19, 2004), who had been a Hezbollah activist
directing Palestinian terrorist squads in the PA-administered territories,
Nasrallah publicly announced for the first time that his organization was
providing support for the insurgents in "occupied Palestine."

3.In the eulogy he delivered at Awali's funeral, Nasrallah said: "Today we
declare Ghaleb Awali a shaheed [martyr for the sake of Allah] of Lebanon. He
is also a shaheed of Palestine. That is because Ghaleb Awali was, like Ali
Salah , one of those who devoted the last years of their lives to helping
our brothers in occupied Palestine [sic]. We do not wish to hide the truth.
We state it openly and proudly. Today Ghaleb Awali died for Palestine. He
died for Jerusalem. He died for Al-Aqsa. He died confronting the Zionist
enterprise." (Al-Manar Hezbollah TV, Lebanon, July 19, 2004).

Harsh criticism in Lebanon

1.Nasrallah's speech drew harsh criticism from within Lebanon . An editorial
in the popular Lebanese newspaper Al-Nahar ( Al-Nahar Internet site, July
21, 2004) attacked the speech and the negative influence Hezbollah's aid to
Palestinian terrorism was likely to have on Syria and Lebanon. Al-Nahar
commentator Sarkis Naoum wrote, "Worse than what Nasrallah said about
[Ghaleb] Awali's death was that he revealed his role in the organization and
exposed his part in coordinating between the Islamic resistance in Lebanon
and the Palestinian resistance in occupied Palestine. The gravity of the
revelation, which was like a kind of admission, is that it confirmed the
long-standing Israeli and American accusations that the organization
[Hezbollah] 'is involved' in the Palestinian issue and in the Palestinian
resistance, arms it, trains it, funds it, and recruits members."

2.The popular pro-Syrian Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir ( Al-Safir Internet
site, July 22, 2004) joined the criticism by saying that the speech made it
difficult for the Lebanese government to continue giving Hezbollah political
backing. Commentator George Alam wrote,

a.". What caught international attention and was significant for the Western
diplomatic community [in Beirut] was not Nasrallah's accusations, but rather
his explicit admission that Awali was part of Hezbollah staff and was
entrusted with providing aid to the Palestinian intifada . That led to great
consternation and gave rise to many questions challenging the credibility
and transparency of the official Lebanese position regarding the resistance
[sic] and more exactly, regarding Hezbollah in the international sphere,
especially in the United Nations.

b."[The Lebanese] position explicitly states that Hezbollah is not a
terrorist organization although the Americans and Israelis classify it as
such, that it is rather a legitimate popular Lebanese political party with
parliamentary representation, that its resistance activities take place only
within Lebanon and on Lebanese soil currently under Israeli occupation and
that it conducts no activities outside of Lebanon .

c." However, the statements about the Hezbollah staff entrusted with aiding
the Palestinian intifada drive a stake into the heart of the official
[Lebanese] position and in the international forum they embroil Lebanon in a
welter of contradictions and interpretations which weaken its credit and
strengthen that of its own enemies and of Hezbollah's enemies.

d."This development has created a moral obstacle to the official Lebanese
inclination to call upon the UN Security Council to condemn Israel for its
recent attacks and provocations."

Praise for the support provided by the shaheed Awali to the Palestinian
armed insurgence at a memorial ceremony in Gaza

3.On July 22, 2004, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Internet site
(PalestineWay.com) reported that a memorial ceremony had been held in the
Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City. It was sponsored by the Popular
Resistance Committees (a terrorist organization operating in the Gaza Strip
composed primarily of ex-Fatah and ex-Palestinian Security Apparatus
members). Thousands thronged to the ceremony, including activists from the
Fatah/Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad/Jerusalem
Battalions.

4.A Fatah/Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades representative gave a speech noting that
"he [Ghaleb Awali] was one of the few who supported the Palestinian problem
[sic] and the jihad [holy war] of our Palestinian nation all through the
years of the intifada ." A representative of the Popular Resistance
Committees, praised the Hezbollah leaders who "stand with us to help us
[overcome] our just Palestinian problem." Sheikh Khadr Habib, representing
the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, praised the support of the "Lebanese
resistance" [i.e., Hezbollah] in "the Palestinian problem."

5.The ceremony ended with the "traditional" Hezbollah finale inspired by
Iran: armed Jerusalem Battalions activists burned Israeli and American flags
and the crowd chanted " Death to America and Israel ."

6.In addition, the Salah al-Din Brigades, the terrorist-military wing of the
Popular Resistance Committees, claimed responsibility for launching Nasser 3
missiles at Israeli territory on July 21, 2004. The announcement to the
French news agency AFP stated that the missiles were launched in retaliation
for " the death of the fighting Hezbollah sheikh Ghaleb Awali ."

7.The similarity between the emblems of Hezbollah and the Popular Resistance
Committees: Hezbollah is clearly the inspiration.