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Terrorism in the Middle East

(U.S. State Department)- On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department released its latest report on "Patterns of Global Terrorism - 2002": Hamas, the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, all of which the United States has designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, were responsible for most of the attacks, which included suicide bombings, shootings, and mortar firings against civilian and military targets. Terrorists killed more than 370 persons - including at least 10 U.S. citizens - in 2002. Hamas's bombing of a cafeteria on the Hebrew University campus, which killed nine, including five U.S. citizens, demonstrated its willingness to stage operations in areas frequented by Westerners, including U.S. citizens. The PIJ increased its number of lethal attacks in 2002, staging a car bombing in June that killed 17 Israelis near Megiddo and similar attacks in or near Afula, Haifa, and Hadera. Syrian officials declined to act on a U.S. request in November to close the PIJ's offices in Damascus. Attacks by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have killed at least five U.S. citizens. Documents seized by the Israelis and information gleaned from the interrogation of arrested al-Aqsa members indicate that Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah members, including Chairman Yasser Arafat, made payments to al-Aqsa members known to have been involved in violence against Israelis. The Palestinian Authority's efforts to thwart terrorist operations were minimal in 2002. Some personnel in the security services, including several senior officers, have continued to assist terrorist operations. Incidents such as the seizure in January of the Karine-A, a ship carrying weapons that Iran planned to deliver to the PA, further called into question the PA's ability and desire to help prevent terrorist operations. In June, President Bush called for a new Palestinian leadership "not compromised by terror."
2003-04-01 00:00:00
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