All Fingers Point to Iran, Hezbollah at Hearings into Attacks Against Jews

In the aftermath of the recent wave of bombings targeting Jewish and Israeli interests, two congressmen are planning to introduce a bipartisan resolution calling on President Clinton to convene “an action-oriented conference on international terrorism.”

“It is essential that we give the greatest attention to this issue so that Teheran, the leaders of Hezbollah in the Beka’a Valley of Lebanon and the leaders of other rogue regimes which sponsor and shelter terrorism will know that the West is prepared to defend itself against terrorism,” said Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), who plans to introduce the resolution with Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.).

Lantos is chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Security, International Organizations and Human Rights. The subcommittee held hearings on the recent terrorist attacks in Buenos Aires, Panama and London on Monday.

At the hearings, Lantos and Barbara Bodine, the State Department’s coordinator for counter-terrorism, targeted Iran and the Islamic fundamentalist movement Hezbollah as the main forces behind the attacks, which have left over 100 people dead and scores wounded.

‘THE IMPRINT OF IRAN’

“These latest bombings have the imprint of Iran and its ally, the radical Hezbollah organization in Lebanon,” Lantos said. “But others have also been involved in past terrorism and may well be involved in these incidents as well, including Libya, Syria, Iraq and North Korea.”

Bodine said that although there is no forensic evidence linking Hezbollah to the July 18 attack on the Jewish community headquarters in Buenos Aires, “circumstantial evidence” points toward the Islamic terrorist group, which claimed responsibility for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires.

Despite Hezbollah’s denials, “this bombing certainly has the hallmarks of a Hezbollah operation,” she said in her testimony.

Bodine said the group, calling itself Ansar al-Allah, which claimed responsibility for the July 18 bombing, “appears to be an offshoot of Hezbollah.”

Bodine also said Hezbollah could be connected to the July 19 bombing of a plane over Panama, which killed 21 people, 12 of whom were Jewish.

Bodine’s assessment echoed similar remarks made by U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher when he testified last week before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“It’s a fair assumption to say that Hezbollah is at the bottom of some of those instances, perhaps all of them, and that they are supported by their patron, Iran,” Christopher said.

“Hezbollah is causing difficulties all over the world and it is clear at the present time that no country is immune from that kind of a dreadful attack,” he said.

Christopher also said the administration has “raised the question” with Syria.

“We hope that they will respond to our determined request that they no longer support groups within their country that are responsible for terrorist acts outside of the country,” the secretary of state said.

In the meantime, Christopher said, “we must take new and strong action to deal with this wave of terrorism, which we witnessed last week in such dramatic form.”

Also testifying at the hearings, Ruben Beraja, president of the Jewish community in Argentina, said the Argentine Jewish community was targeted again after the 1992 bombing because the Argentine government had not arrested anyone involved in the bombing.

“Such a circumstance has special relevance today,” Beraja said, “because it is a negative precedent regarding the ability of the state to punish international terrorism.”

Beraja made the rounds on Capitol Hill after testifying before Lantos’ subcommittee.

In a telephone interview with Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-Ohio) after a meeting with Beraja and Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) Monday afternoon, Metzenbaum said, “Unfortunately there is not much more that Congress can do other than indicate its concern.” Metzenbaum said he is planning to introduce a resolution voicing congressional support for the “victims of the terrible tragedy in Argentina.”

Last Friday, meanwhile, the Organization of American States’ permanent council issued its second declaration condemning the attack in Buenos Aires. The OAS “expresses its most unequivocal repudiation of terrorism under any ideological or political banner as it is an attack upon peace, the security of nations and human dignity,” according to the declaration.

Speaking to a special session of the OAS permanent council, Guido Di Tella, the Argentinean Minister of Foreign Affairs, said the attack on the Jewish community of Argentina “warrants international attention and cooperation in order to identify those responsible and punish them.”