Terror Trail of Cash Leads to Iran, Saudis

Uri Dan, New York Post:

In the war with Palestinian terrorists, Israel is learning to follow the money. What investigators have uncovered is the secret funneling of millions of dollars from Iran and Saudi Arabia to groups like Hamas in the West Bank.

The money played a major role in the five-year offensive, begun in September 2000, that accounted for more than 24,000 attacks by Palestinians on Israelis, including 142 homicide bombings. READ MORE

Those bombings accounted for 510 Israeli deaths, or just over half the fatalities.

A report by the Israeli secret service showed how the money trail worked:

Iran "invested more than $10 million to encourage terrorist activity against Israel."

The money was funneled through Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, as well as Western Union, money launderers and Mideast banks.

After Muntafar Abu Ralyub, a Tanzim militia commander in Jenin, was captured in 2004, he revealed that the basic payment from Hezbollah for a terrorist attack ranged from $600 to $1,100.

If the attack resulted in the death or wounding of an Israeli, there was a $900 bonus, he said.

Another arrested terrorist, Yusef Atik of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade in the West Bank, described getting a phone call from a Hezbollah operative in Lebanon who told him "You're going to make some money."

Atik found that $1,000 was deposited in his Bank Cairo Amman account in Tulkarem — and another $5,000 was soon added.

In return he was trained — through e-mail and CDs he was given in Jenin — in how to teach other militants such skills as how to design explosive belts for homicide bombers.

Iran isn't the only source, the Israelis found.

Yaakub Abu-Asav, a 33-year-old Palestinian with Israeli ID because he lived in east Jerusalem, was arrested after it was discovered he was "the liaison man between the Hamas headquarters in Saudi Arabia and Hamas in the West Bank."