Finger Points To Iran After Attack

CBS Broadcasting, The Associated Press:

Palestinian security forces on Saturday arrested two suspected militants in connection with a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis at a Tel Aviv nightclub, acting on orders from Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to track down and punish those responsible.

Palestinian sources say an operative from the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, which they say has been trying to disrupt an informal Mideast truce, financed the Tel Aviv attack and recruited the suicide bomber, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger.

Abbas hinted at Hezbollah involvement, holding a "third party" responsible for the bombing.

Hezbollah, which is funded by Iran, has hundreds of West Bank gunmen from various Palestinian militant groups on its payroll.

Israel and the United States said Abbas has to act quickly and forcefully — despite his long-standing reluctance to confront militants — if he wants to rescue a fragile Mideast truce.

Abbas met with Cabinet ministers and security chiefs Saturday to discuss a possible response. Abbas condemned the attack as "sabotage" and said he was exchanging information with Israel, the United States and Europe. He said he hoped the attack would not derail efforts to resume peace talks.

The bomber was identified as Abdullah Badran, 21, a university student from the village of Deir al-Ghusun near the West Bank town of Tulkarem. His parents said he was a devout Muslim but had no history of militant activity.

The three main militant groups — Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades — denied involvement, and none hung the customary posters of congratulations at the bomber's home.

The Palestinian interior minister, Nasser Yousef, said Palestinian security forces arrested two militants in connection with the attack. Local security officials in Tulkarem said the two men have ties to Islamic Jihad and that more arrests were expected.

Palestinian security officials had said they were investigating whether Badran was recruited by local militants from Al Aqsa, which has ties to Abbas' ruling Fatah movement, at the behest of Hezbollah. Often, there is overlap and coordination between militant groups, particularly Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa. ...

Speaking to reporters Saturday, Abbas pledged to track down those responsible for the attack, accusing them of trying to derail the peace process. "There is a third party that wants to sabotage this process," he said in a veiled reference to Hezbollah. "This act harms our interests, our path and our goals, and we will not hesitate for a minute to track them down, bring them to justice and punish them," he told reporters Saturday. ...

Palestinian officials and a West Bank militant leader said they believed Hezbollah had orchestrated the attack. Palestinian officials said they had been tracking communications between Hezbollah and Al Aqsa militants in the northern West Bank in recent days.

Hezbollah declined comment. "As far as we are concerned, there is no need to respond to such lies," a Hezbollah official said in Beirut.

However, Hezbollah has emerged as the biggest threat to the fragile Israeli-Palestinian truce, offering West Bank gunmen thousands of dollars to attack Israelis. The group is backed by Iran and Syria. ...