SHIN BET TERROR REPORT MAKES FOR INTERESTING READING

Shin Bet publishes terror report
There has been an 84% decrease in the number of Israelis killed in terror attacks since the completion of the first portion of the security fence in August last year that comprises 134 kilometers between Salem and Elkana.

A Shin Bet report released on Monday that summed up the first four years since the outbreak of violence in September 2000, revealed that terrorist organizations operating in Samaria succeeded in perpetrating 6 suicide bomb attacks inside Israel in which thirty Israelis were killed since the fence's completion. 73 suicide bomb attacks killed 293 Israelis since the outbreak of violence in September 2000. A total of 1017 Israelis and foreigners have been killed in terror attacks in the past four years.

The report notes that the questioning of senior terror leaders incarcerated in Israeli prisons such as Marwan Barghouti, Nasser Aweis, Ahmed Barghouti and Nasser Abu Hmeid revealed that in many instances PA Yasser Arafat authorized the funding of Tanzim activities fully aware that it was to be used in preparation for attacks against Israelis. In many cases, weapons used in terror attacks against Israeli citizens were taken from PA weapons storehouses and distributed to activists in the field.

Over the past four years, the report claims, "many hundreds" of members of the Palestinian security forces have been involved in terror attacks, transporting suicide bombers to launch attacks and smuggling weapons and bombs to activists in different areas. The trend was first noticed in the beginning of 2002, but there has been a noticeable increase in the involvement of Palestinian security officials since last year. The majority are affiliated with the Fatah Tanzim and received instructions from Hizbullah operatives abroad.

Some of the attacks in which Palestinian security officials were involved in include the suicide bomb attack at the Ashdod sea port in Februay this year in which 10 Israelis were killed.
Kamel Abu Wa'ar ,30 a former Force 17 members from Kabbatiya was arrested in January last year by Israeli security forces and admitted to participating in a number of attacks in which Israelis were killed. Majad Hajaj a member of the Gaza Preventive Security Service admitted to transporting two cars rigged with explosives in his truck that were used in the attack at the Erez crossing in March this year in which 6 Israelis were killed.

There has also been a growing number of Israeli Arabs and residents from east Jerusalem involved in terrorist activities. In 2000, security forces uncovered 9 terrorist groups with Israeli Arab members. In 2001, 56 Israeli Arabs were involved in 25 cells that were responsible for 11 suicide bomb attacks and the deaths of 45 Israelis. In 2002, 78 Israeli Arabs were members of 35 cells and involved in 12 attacks in which 45 Israelis were killed. In 2003, 78 Israeli Arabs were members of 35 cells that were responsible for 4 attacks in which 45 Israelis were killed.

So far this year security forces have uncovered terror cells in which 31 Israeli Arabs were involved. In the past four years 150 residents of east Jerusalem who were involved in 20 suicide bomb attacks, in which 163 Israelis were killed, were arrested by security forces.

In the past three years there has been a noticeable increase in cooperation and coordination among the different terror organizations operating in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Officials note that this is partially due to the large numbers of Palestinians involved in terrorist activities arrested by security forces and incarcerated in Israel especially since 2001. This has forced the different organizations to join forces in an attempt to enhance their capabilities.

Cooperation among the different terror organizations operating in Samaria was especially noticed after the IDF's Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002, in which the terror infrastructure in the area received a harsh blow and hundreds of fugitives were arrested. In order to enhance their capability terrorist organizations particularly the Islamic Jihad, Fatah Tanzim and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine decided to join forces in an attempt to carry out what they perceived as "qualitative attacks" against Israeli targets. In the Gaza Strip in the second half of 2003 the trend to combine forces and carry out attacks on behalf of a number of different organizations also began.

Several examples of inter group involvement can be seen in the suicide bomb attack at the Erez crossing in January 2004, in which 4 Israelis were killed that was carried out by Hamas and the Fatah Tanzim. In May this year, the Islamic Jihad and Palestinian Popular Resistance Committee were responsible for the combined bomb and shooting attack at Israeli vehicles near Rafah, in which 2 soldiers were wounded.

The Judea district is considered to be the veteran ideological hard core for terrorist infrastructure. There, the leadership still remains in control, compared to other areas in the West Bank where groups are forced to recruit activists with little or no experience who seek to perpetrate violence but have no ideological identity with the group they join.

Hizbullah, with Iran's backing, is also becoming more and more involved in Palestinian terror groups, and over the past years has poured in large sums of money to fund Palestinian terrorist operations. The organization has transferred instructions on how to manufacture weapons and bombs either over the internet or via operatives smuggled into Palestinian areas and has also trained a number of Palestinian terrorist in military camps in Lebanon.

The Hizbullah started becoming more involved in Palestinian terror following the pullout of IDF forces in south Lebanon in May 2000. Since it decided to turn its focus on assisting the Palestinian terror groups, it has focused on four fronts:
*smuggling via Israel's border crossings operatives who held foreign passports and were to launch attacks in Israel,
*assisting in setting up and refurbishing terror infrastructures in the West Bank,
*smuggling weapons and operatives into Israel mainly via tunnels, and
*pouring in huge amounts of money to fund Palestinian terror.

In addition a number of weapons ships caught by Israel such as the Karine A were loaded with weapons purchased from the Hizbullah with Iranian funds and were authorized by PA officials.

Israeli security forces have confiscated over NIS37 million shekels hidden in bank accounts in Ramallah that were paid into accounts using the guise of charity organizations but were in fact used to fund terrorist activities.