Israel Says Hizballah Pays Bonus For Suicide Bomb Victims

The more civilians are killed in those buses and restaurants, the better Hizballah likes it. From the Dow Jones Newswire, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

Hezbollah is paying bonuses for each person Palestinian suicide bombers kill, the head of Israel's parliamentary defense and foreign affairs committee said Tuesday.

Committee chairman Yuval Steinitz told Dow Jones Newswires that the Lebanese guerrilla group is rewarding the cell organizers for each victim of suicide bombers.

Steinitz confirmed an Israel radio report citing the head of the Shin Bet security
service, Avi Dichter, who appeared before the committee earlier Tuesday, saying Hezbollah was making the payments. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah has been helping to finance attacks carried out by groups affiliated with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement since the Palestinian uprising against Israel broke out nearly 3 1/2 years ago.

But more recently, Hezbollah has begun paying individual terror cells a "bonus" of several hundred dollars for each individual victim killed, Steinitz said.

Hezbollah refused to comment on the report.

Steinitz said Israel is unsure how much money in total the Lebanese guerrilla group has paid to finance uprising-related terror activity.

Palestinian militants didn't immediately comment on the report, but have previously said that Hezbollah has said the payment depends on the size of the attack, although there is no fixed scale for victims.

The militants have said they get monthly payments from Hezbollah for basics such as ammunition and cellular phone cards, as well as larger lump sums of tens of thousands of dollars for individual attacks.

Israel and Hezbollah have been bitter enemies since Israeli troops occupied southern Lebanon more than two decades ago. Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, and a Jan. 29 prisoner swap that also led to the release of 400 Palestinians from Israeli prisoners, haven't reduced the tensions.

Bounty payments for acts of terrorism are a familiar item on the Mideast landscape. Two years ago, then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein began paying $25,000 to the families of suicide bombers, more than doubling previous payments of $10,000.

Israel also accuses Saudi Arabia of sponsoring Palestinian terror through payments to Islamic charities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Saudi Arabia says the money is used for humanitarian purposes only.

A spokesman for the Al Aqsa martyrs' brigade, a militant group loosely affiliated with Arafat, later denied they were getting bonuses for killing more people.

Said Abu Mujahed: "Hezbollah is supporting the Al Aqsa brigades and the intifada financially as the Jews all over the world are supporting Israel. They are supporting us on the basis that they are Arabs and Muslims and they are supporting their brothers in resisting the occupation."

However, he said they weren't getting a lot of money from Hezbollah. "We get just enough to survive and struggle."

Posted by Robert at February 25, 2004 8:54 AM
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