Equipo Nizkor - Letter from Israel regarding the involvement of Hizbullah in developing a terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza.

United Nations
Security Council

S/2016/717

Distr.: General
16 August 2016
Original: English

Identical letters dated 16 August 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

I am writing to you with regard to deeply concerning information that has come to light regarding the direct involvement of Hizbullah in developing a terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza.

Over the past few months Israel submitted multiple indictments against Palestinian individuals who were involved in plans to carry out deadly terror attacks in Israel. Over the course of the investigations, the suspects revealed that these terrorist plots were initiated, funded and carried out under direct instructions from the internationally recognized terrorist organization Hizbullah, a proxy of Iran.

These attempts were directed by Hizbullah's Unit 133, which was established to recruit, train and finance operatives to carry out terror attacks against Israelis in Israel, the West Bank, Egypt and Jordan. The operatives recruited by Hizbullah were instructed to carry out high-profile terror attacks, including suicide bombings, shooting attacks and planting of explosive devices.

An example that reveals the extent to which Hizbullah's sophisticated terror network involving Palestinians has grown was detailed by Usama Noaf Sid Najim, a Palestinian terror recruit from the West Bank, arrested in the last few months. According to information he provided, Najim was recruited through Facebook by a Hizbullah Unit 133 front operator working from the Gaza Strip, named Muhammad Abu Jadian, and was instructed to recruit a terror cell in order to carry out a suicide bombing attack on an Israeli passenger bus. He received payments from Hizbullah for his activities on its behalf and received special encrypted software to set up a secure line of communication with Hizbullah operators and with Abu Jadian.

In another case, a Hizbullah operative, who went by the name "Bilal", recruited an 18-year-old Palestinian, Mustafa Kamel Hindi, from Kalkilya in the West Bank through Facebook. Bilal was in contact with Hindi through e-mail and later through encrypted software that he had provided. He instructed Hindi to recruit a terror cell in order to carry out a terror attack against an Israel Defense Forces patrol. Hindi recruited four men from Kalkilya, and the cell was actively preparing for the attack when they were arrested.

Evidence obtained from these and other arrestees demonstrates a clear pattern and a consistent mode of operation by Hizbullah. New recruits are pursued through the use of social media, operatives in Lebanon, and the on-the-ground activities of local agents, such as Gaza operator Abu Jadian, who has personally played a role in several of these attempted terrorist acts. In turn, these operatives are directed to recruit further new potential agents and undergo intensive training in preparation for terror operations, all while maintaining direct and secure contact with Hizbullah operators in Lebanon.

This structured, well-organized operation demonstrates an ongoing intent to strike at targets inside Israel from Palestinian territory. Hizbullah seeks to use this Palestinian terror infrastructure in order to cover its tracks, avoid accountability and conceal its role as mastermind of such attacks. Conducting such terror activities in territories governed by the Palestinian Authority also serves another interest of Hizbullah, to put the security coordination between Israel and the Palestinians at risk, and to undermine the Palestinian Authority.

Hizbullah's activities in the Palestinian territories are part and parcel of its ongoing attempts to endanger the stability in the Middle East. It is clear that in addition to assisting the Assad regime to besiege and starve the Syrian population, and its ongoing involvement in the civil war in Yemen, Hizbullah has not ceased its active aggression against Israel.

The International community must condemn the ongoing effort of Hizbullah to attack Israeli citizens, increase the violent wave of terror and destabilize the entire region. It must also send a clear message to Hizbullah that its attempts to avoid responsibility and accountability for its actions will not succeed.

This month, as the Security Council convenes to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, it is crucial to ensure the full implementation of resolution 1701 (2006), which requires "the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that ... there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese State".

I call upon the Security Council to condemn Hizbullah's dangerously destabilizing activities, to designate Hizbullah as a terrorist organization and to make it clear that it will be held accountable for any terrorist activity and for any involvement in such activities in the future.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter distributed as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Danny Danon
Ambassador
Permanent Representative

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16Aug16

Letter from Israel regarding the involvement of Hizbullah in developing a terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza