Hizbulah Behind Recent Terrorist Attacks
Militants acting on orders from the Iranian-backed Hizbullah were responsible for a spate of killings and attempted terrorist attacks in Israel during the past month, according to information shared with this column from informed Middle Eastern security officials.
This past Friday, the Palestinian Authority arrested two cells consisting of Fatah militants in the West Bank who admitted upon interrogation to being recruited by Hizbullah to carry out attacks against Israel, the security officials said.
The officials said the cells were being directed by Qais Obeid, an Israeli Arab and a grandson of former Knesset member Diyab Obeid. Obeid defected to Lebanon and became a senior officer of Hizbullah.
The officials further said Hizbullah directed the cells to carry out attacks in the name of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah.
The attacks were also to be carried out in the name of the Abu Musa Brigade, a small group based in Syria allied with Fatah. The officials said the Abu Musa Brigade is not known to have any serious existence in the West Bank.
Earlier this month, this column first reported that the Iranian-backed Hizbullah is financing cells of the Al Aqsa Martys Brigades, the military wing of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah organization.
The security officials, meanwhile, said there is information that Hizbullah-financed militants were behind a spate of killings here in recent weeks. Specifically, the officials said the jihadists were behind the murder earlier this month of Israeli reservist Seraiah Ofer, who was bludgeoned to death at his home in Brosh Habika, in the northern Jordan Valley.
There were media reports here Israel’s Shin Bet Security Service was investigating a possible criminal motive in that attack.
The security officials said there is information the Hizbullah-backed cells also carried out the deadly shooting last month of Gal Gabriel Kobi, who was killed by a Palestinian sniper in the city of Hebron. Kobi had been on reserve duty during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Finally, the officials said there is information that Hizbullah-financed militants carried out a drive-by shooting on Road 446 in the West Bank last week targeting an Israeli car. No one was injured in that attack.
Was The Muhammad Jamal Network Involved In The Benghazi Attack?
Is the State Department hiding the involvement of an Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood-linked terrorist group in the Benghazi attack?
A new United Nations report ties perpetrators of the attack to the Muhammad Jamal Network, or MJN.
The network and its founder, Egyptian Muhammad Jamal, were designated by the State Department this month as “specially designated global terrorists” affiliated with al Qaeda.
The designation not only sanctions MJN’s assets but now allows President Obama to use a Bush-era military doctrine to capture Jamal terrorists overseas.
The State Department document designating MJN as terrorists does not mention the Benghazi attack.
This despite an October 2012 Wall Street Journal report that fighters affiliated with Jamal’s group participated in the Benghazi attack.
Earlier this month, The Daily Beast quoted sources confirming MJN’s involvement at Benghazi.
Recently, a new UN Security Council resolution added MJN to its list of sanctioned al Qaeda groups.
Unlike the State Department description, the UN resolution details MJN’s alleged involvement in the attack on the U.S. special mission and nearby CIA annex.
A UN narrative summary of the sanctions resolution reads: “Muhammad Jamal set up a training camp in Libya where Libyan and foreign violent extremists were trained. Some of the attackers of the U.S. Mission in Benghazi on 11 September 2012 have been identified as associates of Muhammad Jamal, and some of the Benghazi attackers reportedly trained at MJN camps in Libya.”
Earlier this month, this reporter quoted informed Middle Eastern security officials saying it was militants from the Muslim Brotherhood who sprang terrorist leader Muhammad Jamal from prison in 2011.
The Muslim Brotherhood connection may serve as further evidence of an Egyptian role in the Benghazi attack.
Turkey and Qatar Moving Away From Friendly Relations With U.S.
It’s not only Saudi Arabia. Now major U.S. allies Turkey and Qatar are discussing developing closer relations with Russia at the expense of America, according to informed Middle Eastern security officials.
In a shocking development, the security officials further said Qatar and Turkey are leading secret talks to study the possibility of renewing relations with Syria and Iran in response to President Obama opening dialogue with Tehran over its nuclear program.
Qatar and Turkey, along with Saudi Arabia, were deeply involved in supporting the insurgency targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Those countries are said to be some of the biggest opponents of Iran’s alleged nuclear-weapons aspirations.
According to the security officials, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are disappointed with Obama’s outreach to Iran and what they view as a U.S. failure to act militarily in Syria.
“They view America has losing major credibility,” said one official.
The foreign ministers of Qatar and Turkey, the officials say, have been quietly discussing a change in attitude toward Syria and Iran along with closer strategic relations with Russia that could include weapons and oil deals.
Last week, the Daily Mail reported Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, said his country will make a “major shift” away from its relationship with the U.S. in protest of Obama’s dialogue with Iran and inaction in Syria.