RAMALLAH — The ruling Fatah movement has sought support from Iran
amid international efforts to bolster the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinian sources said Iran has been discussing the prospect of
increasing aid to the Fatah movement to ensure the continuation of the
four-year war against Israel. They said Iran, preparing to finance recruits
and weapons purchases, wants Fatah to defy the ceasefire declared by PA
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and renew suicide bombings and other attacks against
the Jewish state.
[On Saturday, PA police staged their first raid of a suspected weapons
cache in the West Bank in nearly five years. PA sources said the raid
resulted in the capture of rifles and bombs in Dura, south of the West Bank
city of Hebron. At least 16 people were arrested.]
The sources said Iran has been financing Fatah squads in Jenin and
Nablus and ordered operatives to continue attacks against Israel and defy
the PA. Last week, Fatah gunmen engaged in a shootout with PA police in
Nablus, in which at least five people were injured.
Fatah chief Farouk Khaddoumi has welcomed Iranian aid and termed Teheran
a close ally of the Palestinians. Khaddoumi
acknowledged Hizbullah and Iranian aid to Palestinian groups, including the
use of Hizbullah trainers for insurgency attacks against Israel.
"If you say [Iranian] infiltration [of Fatah], then we welcome it
because this is good," Khaddoumi said in a recent interview with Al Jazeera
television. "It means that they are extending support for the Palestinians
because they support the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause and
the liberation of Palestine. We welcome all the Arab and Islamic countries
to come and infiltrate us with such support."
The Saudi-owned daily Al Watan reported that Fatah has received $5
million from Iran. The newspaper said Khaddoumi obtained the money during
his tour of Iran and Syria in late 2004. Khaddoumi has denied this.
Still, the Fatah chief, who pledged to continue the war against Israel,
has called for strengthening Palestinian relations with Iran and Syria. In
December, Abbas, who is also chairman of the PLO, completed his first visit
of Syria and received an invitation to visit Iran.
Iranian support to Fatah comes amid a split within the movement. Last
week, 32 prominent Fatah members, many of them regarded as the young guard
of the movement, announced their resignation because of what they termed
graft and corruption by the Central Committee. Those who quit also included
members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
