Reacting to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center 's Special Information Bulleting reporting on Hamas' marketing of terrorism via the Internet, ¹ the organization's representative in Lebanon , Osama Hamdan , denied that its Internet infrastructure was operated from Lebanon and guided by Syria .

In an interview with UPI on October 10, Osama Hamdan also claimed that Hamas did not have its own Internet site and that political pressure caused down its former site to be shut down three years ago. He added that the site referred by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center's bulletin (i.e., www.palestine-info ) was not an official Hamas site but rather private , and its aim was to report on Palestinian topics, “[giving] voice to the Palestinian cause and defending it” (Al-Mustaqbal, Lebanon, October 11. 2005).

The Hamas Arabic site itself, www.palestine-info , posted a response entitled “ Israeli intelligence spreads propaganda against the electronic sites exposing Zionist terrorism by claiming they belong to Hamas .” The posting, which referred to the contents of the Special Information Bulletin and selectively quoted it at great length, claimed that it was part of “a Zionist propaganda campaign [being waged] against Syria , in particular at a time when Israel is attacking Hamas.”

The response of the Hamas representative in Lebanon is a complete fabrication , since the “ Palestinian Information Center ” is a cover name for Internet sites in many languages operated by Hamas . The sites, in which Hamas invests immense resources, regularly post announcements of both Hamas and the Izzedine al-Qassam Battalions, its terrorist-operative wing. The “information” on the site includes pronouncements of Hamas leaders, news items, articles and “research,” all of which correspond to Hamas positions and policies (the response to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center 's Special Bulletin was also posted on that site…). The Palestinian Information Site also has links to the Izzedine al-Qassam Battalions site and to other Hamas sites where regularly updated information about terrorist activities can be found.

In addition, Hamas' leading Internet sites, all using the Palestinian Information Center cover name, are handled by Nizar Hassan Suleiman al-Hussein , who operates from the office of Osama Hamdan, the representative of the Hamas branch in Lebanon . Nizar al-Hussein's name appears on the Internet as the contact person on several Palestinian Information Center sites, including the main Arabic one.

Appendix

Hamas' response as it appeared on the Internet site www.palestine-info .

Translation

Israeli intelligence spreads propaganda against electronic sites exposing Zionist terrorism
by claiming they belong to Hamas

Occupied Jerusalem – the Palestinian Information Center

“A Zionist intelligence report posted on the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center memorial site for Zionist intelligence claimed that nine Internet sites belonging to Hamas are operated from Lebanon, and that from there information is broadcast with the aid of ISPs in Eastern Europe and Eastern Asia [sic]. The report also claimed that Syria was responsible for the contents of the sites and that the source of the information was Hamas headquarters in Damascus .

“The report, posted on that Intelligence Center 's Internet site, followed in the wake of a Zionist propaganda campaign against Syria , and at a time when Israel is attacking the Hamas movement.

“It should be noted that the Zionist entity operates many centers it claims are devoted to research and study, but the truth is they are used an outlet for the propaganda and incitement campaign launched against anyone who opposes Zionist terrorist activities.

“According to the report, the Center for the History of the Intelligence Community investigated nine Internet sites belonging to Hamas to determine whether there were changes in the ISPs used by Hamas.

“The report added that the sites continue using Internet sites provided by companies in Russia , the Ukraine , Malaysia and Indonesia , and emphasizes the fact that there are Hamas activists in those countries.

“The report also noted that there are a number of secondary Internet sites belonging to Hamas which receive the Internet services from Russia , Malaysia , Saudi Arabia , Kuwait , Sudan and Holland .

“The report stated that the official Hamas Internet site can be accessed in seven languages: Arabic, English, French, Farsi, Russian, Malaysian and Urdu, the official language of Pakistan . Every secondary site is differently designed and ‘adapted to the target audience,' according to the Zionist report.

“The authors of the report wrote that ‘in each of the Eastern European and Eastern Asian [sic] countries there are individuals belonging to Hamas and linked to the activities of the sites in Beirut .' ²

“The report also claims that the head of the Internet site network is Nizar Hussein, who works from the office of Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon . It states that ‘Hamdan, in our assessment, is guided by Hamas' headquarters in Damascus .' It also claims that the ‘main site in Arabic is Hamas' most important Internet presence and serves as its primary ‘information' and propaganda tool , aimed at both the Palestinians and other target audiences in Arab and Muslim countries, as well as in Arab and Muslim communities around the world.

“The report goes on to note that the site is updated every few hours and that during the Israeli withdrawal it kept its readers informed by means of postings, pictures and announcements about disengagement progress and Hamas activity.

“The authors of the report are of the opinion that during the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip ‘the site served as the spearhead of the propaganda campaign Hamas conducted against Israel and the PA. It repeatedly referred to Israel 's withdrawal as a Hamas “victory” and stated that the movement was firm in its commitment not to disarm, and to continue its terrorist attacks on Israel until its destruction.'

“The report claimed that enormous amounts of money were invested in Hamas' Internet infrastructure and added that ‘proof of that is that the site has at least three different addresses, each one necessitating use of a different ISP.'

“The report adds that ‘the fact that there are a number of URLs and a number of ISPs is unusual for Internet sites, shows the desire to reach as wide an audience as possible, or perhaps Hamas fears its sites might be shut down and that is a step it takes to guard its Internet sites.'” ³

³ The full quotation reads: “The main site in Arabic – unusual for an Internet site – has at least three different URLs, each provided by a different ISP. That might suggest a desire to reach as wide an audience as possible and/or it might be a security measure stemming from the fear that one of more of the sites might be shut down at the result of political or technical factors.”