(Boston Globe) Anne Barnard - While Islamic Jihad commands the loyalty of at most 3-4% of Palestinians, it has made up for its relative lack of popularity with millions of dollars in funding from Iran and Hizballah, Iran's proxy in neighboring Lebanon. Those backers have increased pressure in recent months to continue attacks on Israel. Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for all six of the suicide bombings that have killed more than 20 Israelis since the Palestinian factions declared a truce last February. In addition to Islamic Jihad, Hizballah now directly sponsors 51 militant cells in the West Bank, most of them offshoots of Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an Israeli intelligence official said.
2006-01-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive