Security sources have warned that a new wave of terrorist attacks may be imminent, originating in Jordan or inside Israel and carried out with more powerful explosives by better trained groups than before. According to the sources, the terrorists have shifted their base of operations from south Lebanon to Jordan and operate with the tacit cooperation of the Syrians though not the Jordanian authorities. The sources said the recent attack on the Meholah settlement in the Jordan Valley was only the “tip of the iceberg.”
The sources say they are worried by certain new elements. One is, they claim, the increasing involvement of West Bank intellectuals with terrorist groups, whereas until now the intellectuals restricted themselves almost exclusively to the political and ideological aspects of the conflict with Israel. The combination of better explosives and better manpower has posed a serious problem for the security forces and demands increased vigilance, the sources said.
They charged that Saudi Arabia provides extensive assistance to the terrorist groups while “pretending moderation” on the international scene. Libya, Algeria and Iraq also continue to provide financial support. This enables the terrorists to procure more powerful and more deadly weapons which are smuggled into Israel, sometimes piece by piece, by persons arriving by sea or air.
Small items, such as detonators, can be concealed on the body of travelers. Heavier equipment, such as Katyusha rockets and launchers, is smuggled from Jordan via the southern end of the Dead Sea and the sparsely populated Arava region, the sources said.
RECRUITMENT STEPPED UP
According to the sources, the terrorist groups, notably El Fatah, have stepped up their recruitment. No longer confining themselves to Palestinian refugees, Fatah and other groups are employing Europeans for intelligence missions, smuggling and acts of sabotage. Candidates are found in the ranks of terrorist groups in Europe, the Japanese Red Army and leftist and radical youth circles. But ties with the Italian Red Brigade do not seem to be strong.
The sources claimed that after the death of terrorist leader Wadie Haddad, George Habash’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has become the chief contact between Palestinians and radical terrorist movements outside the Middle East, mainly in Germany and Japan.
Meanwhile, an army spokesman disclosed tonight that some 29 suspected terrorists were detained in the past few days by Israeli security forces in the Gaza Strip while they were investigating the presence of terrorist groups there. Most of the terrorists the security forces uncovered belong to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. According to the army spokesman, the detainees had been taught at a Popular Front training base in an Arab country how to prepare explosive charges and bombs for use in terror acts against Israel. The investigation is continuing.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
