|
|
April 27, 2001/Iyar 4, 5761, Vol. 53, No.30
Anti-Israel groups plot strategy in Iran
GIL SEDAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - As the United States and other Western powers try to reduce Israeli-Palestinian tensions, Iran moved this week to fan the flames.
In a bid to become the hub for anti-Israel activities, Iran invited Arab terror groups - including Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad - to a two-day meeting in Tehran to coordinate strategy against Israel.
The view from Tehran is that the anti-Israeli front should intensify its activities to take advantage of Israel's present "state of instability and weakness."
The conference brought together a who's who of Israel's enemies, yet it was greeted with relative indifference by Israeli officials. As far as they are concerned, Iran's role as a backer of militant groups has been clear for some time.
Just the same, the militant powwow represented something of a success for Tehran.
Until now, many Muslim countries have distanced themselves from Iran and its fundamentalist regime. At a conference of Islamic states last November, for example, Iran failed to get the attendees to take steps to isolate Israel on the world stage.
In an article this week, however, the Tehran Times made the goals of Iranian leaders clear: "Tehran slowly is becoming the focal point of the struggle for the Liberation of holy Jerusalem."
For their part, Palestinian groups attending the conference had a goal of their own. Known as the rejectionist front because of their refusal to accept any of the terms of the Oslo process - particularly those recognizing Israel's right to exist - the groups are concerned that Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat may one day reach a final agreement with Israel.
The conference in Tehran was intended to increase coordination among the rejectionists - instead of competition between them to make the struggle against Israel more effective.
|
