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The Palestinian Authority’s support of Hamas’ suicide terrorism: |
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A poster commemorating Sa’id Hasan Houtari, the Hamas suicide bomber who perpetrated the suicide bombing attack at Tel-Aviv’s Dolphinarium, one of the most murderous acts of terrorism perpetrated in the course of the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In spite of Yasser Arafat’s public condemnation of the attack, the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Social Affairs granted the terrorist’s father, who issued a public statement in support of the terrorist act, a sum of $2,000 about two weeks after the suicide bombing attack.
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| General characteristics | |||||||||||
| 1. | On June 1, 2001, Sa’id Hasan Houtari, a Hamas suicide bomber, perpetrated a suicide bombing attack outside a discotheque at Tel-Aviv’s Dolphinarium. 21 Israeli civilians —mostly teenagers —were killed, and 83 were wounded in the attack. The suicide bomber was sent to perpetrate the suicide bombing attack by Abd al-Rahman Hamad, head of the Hamas operative infrastructure in Qalqilya, who was killed by IDF forces six months later. | ||||||||||
| 2. | Among the materials seized in the course of Operation Defensive Shield were two documents issued by the Martyrs’ Families and Injured Care Establishment, which falls under the authority of the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Social Affairs. The documents address the transfer of a grant in the sum of $2,000 to the father of the suicide bomber, who was living in Jordan at that time (June 18, 2001) ( see Appendices A, B ). The transfer was made in spite of the suicide bomber’s Hamas affiliation, in spite of the father’s public support of the suicide bombing attack (see Appendix G ), and in spite of Yasser Arafat’s public condemnation of the suicide bombing attack (see Appendix E ). | ||||||||||
| 3. | The transfer of the grant—one more cog in the terror-supportive mechanism—is yet another testimony of the hands-on support provided by Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian Authority and its institutions to suicide terrorism, in complete contradiction of Yasser Arafat’s public statements given whenever a murderous terrorist attack occurs. | ||||||||||
| 4. | In light of the above, it is worth mentioning that several days after the grant was issued, a German television channel reported that Yasser Arafat had sent the suicide terrorist’s father, through the Palestinian Authority ambassador in Jordan, a letter commending his son’s act and stating that it was a “wonderful model of heroism, manhood and willingness for self-sacrifice” (see Appendix I ). Yasser Arafat’s office denied the truthfulness of the report and claimed the letter was forged; however, the transfer documents and a similar letter written by Yasser Arafat found among seized documents1 in the past serve to complement the credibility of the German television station’s report.
1. The report on the letter is reminiscent of a similar affair: Among documents seized in the past was a letter of condolence addressed by Yasser Arafat to the family of Amer Mansour al-Khudeiri, a Hamas operative from Tulkarm who was involved in preparations for suicide bombing attacks, including the first stages of preparations for the Park hotel suicide bombing attack in Netanya in March 2002. In his letter of condolence, Yasser Arafat uses Islamic terminology, also used by Hamas, encouraging and justifying suicide bombing attacks [the story was analyzed in an information bulletin published by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in November 2003, English edition]. |
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| 5. | It should be noted that the transfer of the support grant to Jordan (where the father of the suicide bomber was staying) was carried out through the Arab Bank branch in Al-Bireh. The bank is well-known for being a preferred channel used by the terrorist organizations and the Palestinian Authority for transferring funds for terrorist supportive activities (payments to families of killed, wounded, imprisoned and wanted terrorists). Given the far-reaching resonance of the Dolphinarium suicide bombing, it can be assumed that the managers of the Arab Bank branch in Al-Bireh were well aware of the purpose and destination of the grant transferred by their bank. | ||||||||||
Appendix A
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$2,000 transferred to the father of the Dolphinarium suicide bomber by the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Social Affairs |
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In the name of Allah the compassionate and the merciful The Palestinian National Authority The esteemed directors of the Arab Bank—Al-Bireh2 Kindly transfer a sum of two thousand [in words and in numbers] US dollars to the following beneficiary: Thank you for your kind cooperation Dr. Yousef Ahmad Jobran [Note: In charge of the Martyrs’ Families and Injured Care Establishment, which falls under the authority of the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs, headed by Intisar al-Wazir, aka Umm Jihad]. 2. At that time, the Dolphinarium suicide bombing attack gained wide exposure across Palestinian and international media. It can be assumed, therefore, that the directors of the Arab Bank in Al-Bireh knew who was to receive the transfer made by their bank. 3. Born in Qalqilya in 1940, stayed abroad (in Jordan, probably) in the years 2000-2003. |
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Appendix B
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$2,000 transferred to the father of the Dolphinarium suicide bomber by the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Social Affairs—original document |
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Appendix C
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Transfer of $2,000 from Ramallah to Jordan through the Arab Bank’s Al-Bireh office—annotated |
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Arab Bank LIAL / 0001 Value date : 2001/06/18 |
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Appendix D
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Transfer of $2,000 from Ramallah to Jordan through the Arab Bank’s Al-Bireh office—original document |
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Appendix E
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Yasser Arafat’s public condemnation: Yasser Arafat’s declaration at a press conference attended by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and the personal delegate of UN Secretary General, Terje Larsen, held one day after the Dolphinarium suicide bombing attack. Arafat pledged to make the utmost effort to put an end to the bloodbath [as reported on Radio Palestine, June 2, 2001, 16:17] |
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From an article by Rashid Hilal: What follows is the translation of a relevant fragment of Arafat’s speech : “On July 2, 2001, at 02:30 in the morning, we issued an official statement on behalf of the leadership. However, I personally stress the [following] message: we have condemned, in an official statement, the act of explosion that occurred in Tel-Aviv on the night of June 1, 2001. I hereby reiterate our condemnation of the unfortunate act that occurred in Tel-Aviv against civilians and of any act that leads to the deaths of Israeli or Palestinian civilians. We have exerted and we are willing to exert every possible effort in order to put an end to the bloodbath of our people and the Israeli people and do whatever it takes to achieve an immediate, immediate, immediate and unconditional ceasefire, in a way that is both genuine and effective, in a way that is both genuine and effective. This must be achieved through a concerted effort so that we can return to the negotiation table and implement the recommendations of the Mitchell Committee and the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative. We have asked for immediate international effort to guide us in that direction, in order to ensure the future of our children and theirs4, and protect the peace process, the peace of the brave, between the peoples, the Israeli and the Palestinian, and in all the Arab and other venues in the region…”4. In practice, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas turned the figures of the mastermind behind the Dolphinarium suicide bombing attack and the suicide bomber himself into role models for the young generation of Palestinians (see Appendix F). |
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| Appendix F |
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The suicide martyrdom culture: The sender of the Dolphinarium suicide bomber and the suicide bomber himself turn into role models in the Palestinian Authority administered territories |
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| Terrorists as role models: A large photograph of Abd al-Rahman Hamad (center), the mastermind behind the Dolphinarium suicide bombing attack. On the left—Sa’id Hasan Houtari, the suicide bomber. The photograph, accompanied by memorial stones, was placed at the entrance of the Palestine elementary school in Qalqilya (the photograph was taken by IDF in January 2003). | |||||||||||
| Appendix G | |||||||||||
Hasan Hussein Houtari, the father of suicide bomber Sa’id Houtari, praises his son’s act on Hamas’ official website (early June 2002) |
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| 1. | Immediately following the Dolphinarium suicide bombing attack, the Hamas website published a statement by Hasan Hussein Houtari, the father of the suicide bomber (who received a grant of $2,000 from the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs approximately two weeks after the attack). | ||||||||||
| 2. | The father’s main statements: | ||||||||||
| a. | He claims he was overjoyed when he received the news of his son’s death in the act of suicide martyrdom (istishhad) in Tel-Aviv. | ||||||||||
| b. | He wishes that his remaining four sons become martyrs as well, die for the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and cause heavy casualties among the enemy, as their brother did. | ||||||||||
| c. | He praises Allah that the act was a success, and notes his feeling of pride of his son for carrying out the highest-casualty act of suicide martyrdom in five years. | ||||||||||
| Appendix H | |||||||||||
Hasan Hussein Houtari (who received the $2,000 grant), the father of suicide bomber Sa’id Houtari, praises his son’s act on Hamas’ official website (early June 2002)—original document |
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| Appendix I | |||||||||||
A German TV channel reports having a letter in which Yasser Arafat praises the Dolphinarium suicide bomber. Arafat’s office previously claimed that the letter was forged (as reported on Radio Beirut, June 23, 2001) |
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