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Israel: Hizbullah funding missiles that could reach airport

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, August 12, 2005

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.


Copyright © 2005 East West Services, Inc.

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