Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Saudi-born terror chief Osama bin Laden and the Iranian-backed Hizballah organization are playing an increasing role in the Palestinian uprising against Israel, promoting their own interests, Israeli counter-terrorism experts said on Tuesday.
They warned that the problem was not only Israel's, but should be cause for concern for the entire international community.
Afghan veterans of the war against the former Soviet Union, now under the umbrella of Bin Laden, aim to turn the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a wider Islamic struggle, said Yoram Scheitzer, researcher at the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), north of Tel Aviv.
"The Afghan alumni ... see the opportunity to transform this conflict into a religious one," Scheitzer said at a briefing for foreign journalists in Jerusalem.
Bin Laden, wanted in the U.S. for masterminding the twin embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania three years ago, operates by absorbing local interests into his terrorist network and supporting groups to carry out terror attacks, Scheitzer explained.
They carry out clusters of "spectacular attacks" every two or three years aimed at causing as many casualties as possible. Besides planning attacks against U.S. interests they are preparing for attacks against Israelis as well, he said.
According to Scheitzer, Bin Laden has vowed to send 150 activists to the Israel-PA region. If he manages to send even ten, they will be experts in carrying out large attacks, he said.
He described Bin Laden himself as being "efficient and professional" in preparing attacks, and he said the Saudi militant took his time doing so.
Iranian backing
Meanwhile, Palestinian groups are also receiving support from Iran, particularly through the Lebanese-based Hizballah group.
Scheitzer said he does not expect that to change despite the re-election of "moderate" President Mohammed Khatami, since he has no control over the Revolutionary Guard or the intelligence community, which back such actions.
"[Iran] is working extensively on upgrading the abilities of terror groups," with the goal of helping them to carry out better terror attacks. A primary vehicle is through its support of Hizballah, which adheres to the same Islamic tradition as Iran.
When Israel withdrew from a southern Lebanon buffer zone a year ago, Hizballah found itself in a "severe crisis," Scheitzer said. Israel's withdrawal took away its justification for operating, and the organization had to look for another pretext to continue.
Instead, the group adopted a strategy of trying to provoke trouble in the area through various channels.
Activists recruited officers from PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's elite Force 17 guard, one of whom was responsible for launching the first mortar attacks against Israeli communities in the Gaza Strip. He was later killed in an Israeli helicopter attack.
Hizballah has also attempted to recruit Israeli Arabs, which was made more possible after Jewish and Arab relations became strained last fall after Israeli police killed 13 Israeli Arabs during pro-Palestinian rioting.
Another outlet for Hizballah has been to work with Palestinian groups that support the destruction of the state of Israel, namely Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The Hizballah-Iranian connection with Hamas was strengthened with Israel's unilateral departure from Lebanon, said Ely Karmon, senior researcher at the ICT.
It gave an enormous psychological boost to the organization in the eyes of the Palestinians and Arab world, who likened Hizballah's evident triumph over Israel to that of the Afghanistan militants over the former Soviet Union.
Hamas enjoys the support of the Iranian moderates and hardliners, Karmon said, adding that the destruction of Israel is the only "glue" that holds the reformists and radicals together in Iran.
Karmon predicted Hamas would refrain from suicide bombing operations for the next few weeks, after Arafat accepted a U.S.-brokered ceasefire understanding with Israel aimed at staunching nine months of bloodshed.
However, if it appeared that the PA and Israel were moving toward a real agreement, he believed Hamas would resume such operations in order to thwart any kind of agreement.