TEL AVIV — Israel's military reports Hizbullah has
poured tens of thousands of dollars to fund development of Palestinian
missiles in the West Bank.
Israeli security sources said the missiles were meant to be used against
Israeli cities in wake of the military's withdrawal from the northern West
Bank in September. They said targets of the Hizbullah-financed missiles
would include Israel's international airport at Lod.
So far, Hizbullah has been funding operatives of the ruling Fatah
movement and the Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad to develop and produce the
missiles. The sources said these operatives were based in the northern West
Bank city of Jenin, Middle East Newsline reported.
[In the United States, two employees of a shipping company have pleaded
guilty in connection with a planned shipment of night-vision goggles and
infrared sights to Hizbullah. The two employees comprised a Lebanese
and an Israeli and were arrested in New York City in an FBI sting
operation.]
Israeli authorities have arrested two members of the Hizbullah-financed
cell, established in early 2005. Officials said the cell comprised members
of Fatah and Jihad who sought to carry out missions for Hizbullah.
Hizbullah was said to have stressed the need to develop missiles that
could strike Israeli communities either in the West Bank or Israel. The
sources said Hizbullah urged operatives to manufacture Kassam-class
short-range missiles designed by Hamas.
"The cell operatives repeatedly attempted to manufacture projectiles
including Kassam rockets, and carried out an experiment that
failed to launch two Kassam rockets at the [northern West Bank] community
of Kadim," an Israeli government statement said on Aug. 2.
The two leading operatives in the Hizbullah-financed cell were
identified as Raid Higawi and Yussef Aziz. The sources said Higawi
confessed that Hizbullah funded and supported the cell.
The sources said Hizbullah was also funding similar efforts in the West
Bank city of Nablus. Hamas was also said to have been involved in these
efforts.