Newsday

EDITORIAL

Palestinians Mustn't Let Terrorists Hijack Their Cause

December 6, 2002

Attempts by Islamist terror groups to broaden the Israeli-Palestinian conflict beyond the borders of Israel by staging attacks in other countries could backfire badly on the cause of Palestinian independence. Responsible Palestinian leaders should denounce this manipulative linkage by the al-Qaida network and the Lebanese Hezbollah group for what it is: a cynical exploitation of the Palestinians' struggle for a state, an effort to use them to further the goals of international terrorism. It does the Palestinians a great disservice and could cost them sympathy around the world.

The lethal suicide bombing of a hotel and the failed missile launch against an Israeli airliner, both in Kenya, for which al-Qaida claimed responsibility, were the first known terror acts against Israel undertaken by Osama bin Laden's network. They were intended to send the message that Israelis would not be safe from retaliation outside Israel's borders.

A few days later, the leader of Hezbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, urged a global suicide bombing campaign in sympathy with the Palestinian struggle. "Martyrdom operations - suicide bombings - should be exported outside Palestine," Nasrallah said at a rally in Lebanon. "I encourage Palestinians to take suicide bombings worldwide."

So far, neither Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat nor any other notable Palestinian figure unconnected with these terror groups has seen fit to renounce the linkage claimed by al- Qaida, or Hezbollah's outrageous invitation to a worldwide suicide campaign. That's shameful, especially since there is a consensus among ordinary Palestinians that their cause has been hurt by the Kenya attacks.

The surpassing irony may be that even Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, the most militant Islamist groups among Palestinians, say they do not wish to expand their terror attacks outside Israel and the occupied territories. At least Hamas seems to know where it's wise to draw the line. By his inaction, Arafat is losing a valuable opportunity to show the world he does not want the Palestinian cause aligned with international terrorism.