Thailand hunting Hezbollah operatives planning terror attacks against Jews, Israelis

Haaretz Israel is reporting that the Counter-Terrorism Bureau has issued a warning to Israelis to stay away from Bangkok, and advised those already in the capital to avoid areas commonly frequented by Israelis.

Thailand's intelligence services launched a manhunt Friday for a Hezbollah operative who is part of a terror cell planning attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Bangkok. The Counter-Terrorism Bureau has issued a warning to Israelis to stay away from the Thai capital, and advised those already in Bangkok to avoid areas commonly frequented by Israelis. The defense source said the Thai authorities were working hard to thwart the attack, which was expected sometime ahead of February 12 - the anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah operations chief Imad Mughniyeh. According to Thai sources, despite the arrest of the first suspect, the terror warning is still in force. The defense source said the incident was still underway.

"A manhunt is still underway after the additional suspects,which means the threat still exists and the travel advisory is still in force," the source said. The source also called on Israelis who are now in Thailand to comply with the directives and to stay away from Bangkok. Thai sources said that during his questioning, the detained Hezbollah operative confessed that a terror squad was intending to launch an attack on Israeli targets, including places where Israelis stay.

"The Thai authorities have stationed heavy security at all potential targets," a securing source added.
According to the Thai media, Israel first informed the Thai authorities on December 22 that three Hezbollah operatives had entered the country in order to perpetrate terror attacks. On January 8, Israel received additional information pinpointing this weekend as the time of the attack. The Americans had also informed the Thai authorities before Christmas that they had received information from Israel about a planned terror attack against Western and American targets in Bangkok.

Three members of the terror cell are Lebanese citizens who also hold Swedish passports, and who visited Thailand a few times in recent months. The information led the Thai authorities Friday to an apartment near Khao San Road, a popular destination for Israeli backpackers and other visitors to the Thai capital. Thai security officials raided the apartment but the Hezbollah men had already fled. They arrested Idris Hussein, 48, a dual Lebanese-Swiss citizen, at Bangkok Airport a few minutes before he was due to board a flight out of the country. Following Hussein's arrest, nine other countries besides Israel and the United States issued travel advisories against visiting Bangkok.

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Hezbollah Looks for a Shield From Indictments’ Sting

For more than five years, much of Lebanese politics has seemed to revolve around a single question: Who killed Rafik Hariri? For years, billboards bearing the face of the former prime minister — killed in a Beirut car bombing in 2005 — hung in the city with the words “The Truth — for the sake of Lebanon.” An international tribunal was established under United Nations auspices, and many Lebanese believed that an indictment of top Syrian officials — widely believed to be the culprits — could help protect Lebanon’s sovereignty.

But in recent weeks, a consensus has emerged in Lebanon — presumably, through leaks — that the tribunal will soon indict members of Hezbollah, the militant Shiite movement, for playing a role in the killing. That accusation, which has been rumored since last year, is already raising tensions in Lebanon, and some fear it could provoke another bloody internal conflict between Hezbollah and its pro-Western rivals like the one that took place in May 2008.

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Hezbollah Terrorists On Our Southern Border

Although U.S. officials cannot confirm reports of the arrest Jamel Nasr recently in Tijuana, they should acknowledge that the reports are consistent with increasing concern that Hezbollah is seeking an operational base in the Americas. Nasr was no ordinary tourist or would-be immigrant. He is a made member of the Lebanese-based terror group, Hezbollah. Mexican authorities have released few details about his arrest, but they appear to have uncovered a network traceable back to the terrorist group’s headquarters in the Middle East.

The possible arrest is not the first incident indicating Hezbollah’s interest in establishing a beachhead in the Americas. Last month, Paraguayan police arrested Moussa Ali Hamdan, a naturalized U.S. citizen. He had been sought by the U.S. since last November, when he was indicted for involvement in bogus passports, counterfeiting, and selling fake merchandise to finance Hezbollah operations. South and Central America hold definite attractions for the terror crowd. For starters, there’s money. Profits from the region’s lucrative drug trade help fuel many international terrorists.

Hezbollah craves a share of the action. The Tri-Border region—the weakly-governed space where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay join—has been an area of ongoing concern for, U.S. counter-terrorism experts since 9/11. It boasts a high density of inhabitants of Arab descent. That, coupled with a robust smuggling trade, makes the Tri-Border a lawless breeding ground ideal for fueling international terrorism.

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Mexico thwarts Hezbollah bid to set up South American network

Mexico foiled an attempt by Hezbollah to establish a network in South America, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Tuesday. Hezbollah operatives employed Mexicans nationals with family ties to Lebanon to set up the network, designed to target Israel and the West, the Al-Seyassah daily said. According to the report, Mexican police mounted a surveillance operation on the group's leader, Jameel Nasr, who traveled frequently to Lebanon to receive information and instructions from Hezbollah commanders there. Police say Nasr also made frequent trips to other countries in Latin America, including a two-month stay in Venezuela in the summer of 2008. Nasr was living in Tijuana, Mexico at the time of his arrest, the report said. The report follows warnings from the United States that Hezbollah and its backer Iran are stepping up operations in the region.

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Miami Man Accused of Selling Video Games to Terrorists

A PlayStation game system is usually a pretty acceptable gift, unless you are shipping it to a suspected terrorist. Khaled Safadi, a business man in Doral, is accused by federal authorities of shipping Sony PlayStation 2 consoles to a shopping center in Paraguay marked by the feds a front for terrorist activity. Two other Miami business men have also been arrested in connection with the large shipments. "It's a children's toy,'' Michael Tein, Safadi's attorney told a federal judge Monday. "He is being accused of shipping a children's toy to Paraguay. It's a shame that the government has pumped this thing up as a terrorism case,'' he said.

A judge granted Safadi's release on $1.5 million bond, but he will be forced to stay home while he fights the charges. Hopefully he saved a PlayStation or two for himself. Apparently, shipping video games to terrorists is serious business to the feds, who have dropped an 11-charge indictment on Safadi, who has never had a run-in with the law. Safadi allegedly sold $720,000 in Sony PlayStation 2 consoles and digital cameras to the Galeria Page Mall in Paraguay between 2007 and 2008. U.S. intelligence officials believe the shopping center is a front for financing terrorist activities out of the Middle East, including groups like Hezbollah. That makes it the poster child for the "Do Not Do Business With" list. Authorities claim Safadi hid the shipments by providing false addresses on invoices.

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Hezbollah Threatens Weapon Buildup

Hezbollah's leader said Monday that the Lebanese militant group will improve its weapons capabilities to face off any Israeli threat and that armed struggle was the only way to regain Arab lands captured by the Jewish state.

Hassan Nasrallah's remarks signaled the group has no intention of meeting a United Nations resolution requiring it to give up its weapons. That position that has generated division among the country's fractious political groups as well as concern in Israel, which says it is preparing to deploy a defense system to shoot down rockets from Lebanon.

Mr. Nasrallah gave no details on the weapons plans, but Hezbollah has said it has tens of thousands of rockets. Israel's military says that since its 2006 war with the group, Hezbollah has tripled its prewar arsenal to more than 40,000 rockets, some of which can strike virtually anywhere in Israel -- a dramatic change from the short-range missiles it fired in 2006.

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Hezbollah cell smashed as FBI hits arms trade

The FBI has dismantled an alleged Hezbollah cell accused of arms dealing, depositing counterfeit money in a Canadian bank and selling a Canadian passport to support the Lebanese terrorist group.

Ten people from New York, New Jersey, Lebanon and Venezuela have been indicted and face up to 30 years in prison following an investigation that began in 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday.

The indictments link Hezbollah to a wide array of crimes, ranging from counterfeiting U.S. currency and money laundering to fencing stolen cars, cellular phones, laptops and Sony Play Station 2 systems.

The case also implicates Iran and Syria in Hezbollah's illicit arms network. The suspects allegedly tried to ship guns to Latakia, a Syrian port they said was controlled by Hezbollah. And Hezbollah officials in Iran were allegedly involved in the weapons purchase.

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Al-Qaeda inspired groups still active in Canada

A secret government list of the country's top terrorist threats says al-Qaeda-inspired extremists remain active in Canada and are willing and able to carry out attacks. "AQ's Islamist extremist ideology continues to inspire individuals in Canada," says the classified Intelligence Assessment. "AQ-inspired groups and individuals present a threat of terrorist attack in Canada." The report indicates that, long after police arrested 18 suspects around Toronto for allegedly plotting "al-Qaeda-inspired" shootings and bombings, such extremists remain a central security concern.

Three terrorist groups are named in the report, titled "Canada: Bi-Annual Update on the Threat from Terrorists and Extremists." Dated last November, the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre report was only recently released under the Access to Information Act. Aside from al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda inspired groups, the document names Hezbollah and notes its leader Hassan Nasrallah has threatened to avenge last year's assassination of its military chief Imad Mugniyah. But the report says Hezbollah "has never attacked a target in Canada" and that "Hezbollah in Canada is primarily structured for fundraising."

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Hezbollah to be included in new Lebanese government

Hezbollah will be part of the next Lebanese government "whether Israel likes it or not," Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Sa'ad Hariri (pictured) was quoted as saying during a Ramadan meal Tuesday night.

"The national unity government will include the ruling March 14 alliance, and I also want to assure the Israeli enemy that Hezbollah will be in this government whether it likes it or not because Lebanon's interests require all parties be involved in this cabinet," AFP quoted Hariri as saying.

It seems as if the defeat by Hezbollah during the recent Lebanese elections will not preclude the organization from taking part in government. The Lebanese constitution is very inclusive so this is not a great surprise.

• “Hariri: Hizbullah will join next gov't 'whether Israel likes it or not'” Jerusalem Post, 8/26/09.
• "Hezbollah loses Lebanon vote", Washington Times, 6/8/09.
  

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Egypt 'Hezbollah cell' on trial

A group accused of plotting attacks in Egypt for the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah has gone on trial in Cairo. The 22 defendants in court deny spying on ships in the Suez Canal and plotting attacks on holiday resorts popular with Israelis in Sinai.

Hezbollah's leader has admitted one of the men was an agent for the movement but denied any plan to harm Egypt. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said the Hezbollah member was tasked with smuggling weapons to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

The 26 men - two Lebanese, five Palestinians and 19 Egyptians - are charged with spying for a foreign group and planning attacks against tourists and shipping in the Suez Canal. They are also accused of sending operatives into the occupied Gaza Strip to help Palestinian militant groups there. At least one defendant said he had been tortured. Another four are on the run and being tried in their absence.

Hezbollah have become a very busy political and terror organization in recent years. There have been documented reports of cells active in Asia, Europe, North and South America as well as Africa.

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Hezbollah Cells Active In Venezuela Alleges Israel

Hezbollah has set up command posts in Venezuela and sends operatives on intelligence missions to neighboring countries, an Israeli government official said. Hezbollah has invested a lot of time and effort in planning attacks against Israeli or Jewish targets in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Peru, the official told Yedioth Aharonoth Thursday.

Many of the organization's operatives are in industrial zones, particularly those linked to the oil industry, which attracts workers from the Middle East.

Venezuela's Foreign Ministry says a top Israeli diplomat's allegations that Hezbollah cells are operating on Venezuela's Margarita Island and along the Venezuelan-Colombian border are "ridiculous".

"There are many mosques that serve not only as places of worship, but also to collect money that's sent to the Middle East," Dorit Shavit was quoted as saying in an interview with Colombian newspaper El Tiempo published Sunday.

In a statement on Tuesday, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry called the allegations "ridiculous." President Hugo Chavez, meanwhile, complained that the allegations - combined with a recent U.S. congressional report criticizing Venezuela's anti-drug efforts, and Colombia's decision to allow the U.S. to expand its military presence in that country - constitute "aggression."

• “Hezbollah operating in S. America”, UPI, 8/13/09.
• “Israeli government denounces emergence of Hizbullah cells in Colombia”, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 7/21/09.
• “Hezbollah presence in Venezuela feared”, LA Times, 8/27/08.
• “Hezbollah: Most Powerful Political Movement in Lebanon”, Council on Foreign Relations, 5/29/08.
• “Lightning Out of Lebanon: Hezbollah Terrorists on American Soil”, Book Review, Carnegie Council, 3/15/05.

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Compromises with Hezbollah are Lethal

Elias Bejjani

Time after time terrorist and fundamental groups like Al Qaida, Hezbollah, Hamas and all others, prove with no shed of doubt that they only comprehend, listen and respond to crystal clear means of decisiveness, overt offensive action and a strong show of strength and power. Their backward and destructive ideologies, as well as their fundamentalist nature and disrespect for all things unlike their own, reveal their true chauvinistic nature, as they look to humiliate, belittle and trample all those who ignore their threats and who do not bow to their logic and demands.

“Hezbollah Could Surpass Al Qaida as Most Serious Long-Term Threat to the U.S. It is better equipped, better trained and better politically positioned than Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida. Al-Qaida and its network are our most serious immediate threat, they may not be our most serious long-term threat. Having operated for more than a quarter-century, Hezbollah has developed capabilities that al-Qaida can only dream of, including large quantities of missiles and highly sophisticated explosives. This group also has uniformly well trained operatives, an exceptionally well-disciplined force of nearly 30,000 fighters, and extraordinary political influence.” Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of Homeland Security, 6/17/09

To read the complete Global Politician article, please click here.

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