Hezbollah ‘recruiting Palestinians in bid to foil peace’
The accusations, a day after Israel and the Palestinians announced a ceasefire, echoed charges from the Jewish state. The officials declined to be identified.
Meanwhile, Israel said it would soon readmit thousands of Palestinian workers and lift some West Bank roadblocks.
Tuesday’s meeting of Israeli and Palestinian leaders, while the first of its kind after four years of fighting, was only a modest first step since the truce they announced remains tenuous on the ground and core territorial disputes were sidestepped.
Witnesses said a Palestinian man of 20 was critically wounded by gunfire from a Jewish settlement in occupied Gaza on Wednesday, while a Hamas militant was killed making a bomb.
Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, said in a statement no contacts had taken place with militants, and one senior Palestinian security adviser said he had received assurances that Hezbollah would abide by the truce.
However, a top Palestinian official said security services were investigating Hezbollah funding for militants in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Another said links were spotted via intercepted communications.
“We know that Hezbollah has been trying to recruit suicide bombers in the name of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades to wage attacks that would sabotage the truce,” an official said about an armed group of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction.
Another official said intercepted email communications and bank transactions suggested Hezbollah had raised its cash offers to militants, but it was unclear if this reflected a heightened desire to see violence flare up or a dearth of recruits.
“Now they are willing to pay $100,000 for a whole operation (suicide bombing) whereas in the past they paid $20,000, then raised it to $50,000,” the second official said.
Mr Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced a ceasefire at a summit in Egypt on Tuesday to end four years of bloodshed and prepare the ground for peacemaking.
Militants have said they are not bound by the truce, but will maintain a recent calm at the request of Mr Abbas.
Israel has long accused Hezbollah, whose attacks helped end its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000, of bankrolling a Palestinian revolt that erupted later that year.
Hezbollah has acknowledged some support for Palestinian militant groups. Palestinian officials blamed a recent attack in the West Bank city of Nablus on the guerrilla group.
Officials accused Hezbollah of sending money to the West Bank and Gaza via relatives among the 400,000-strong Palestinian refugee community in Lebanon. Many refugees fear that Mr Abbas will abandon demands for a “right to return” to lands inside Israel, though he has said he would not.
Senior Palestinian security adviser Jibril al-Rajoub said Lebanese officials had told him during talks in Beirut that Hezbollah would not sabotage efforts at calm.
“Hezbollah will respect the decision of the leadership of the Palestinian people of their commitment to the ceasefire,” he said.
Representatives of al-Aqsa Brigades denied getting help from the Shi’ite guerrillas. “We respect Hezbollah but Palestinian resistance is capable of leading its struggle alone and is able to support itself by itself,” said spokesman Abu Qusai.
A Lebanese-born Palestinian with Danish citizenship awaits trial in Tel Aviv, accused of spying and trying to recruit Israeli Arabs for Hezbollah missions. He denies the charges.
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