Palestinian terror: Under new management

Lebanese terror group Hizbullah is eager to keep up with the Jew killin'. And, as Israel National News reports, this time it's going to cost them -- literally:

The Lebanon-based Hizbullah terror organization has announced that it is raising the compensation it pays out to families of suicide attackers from $20,000 to $100,000.

...PA military officials told Associated Press reporters that Hizbullah, which has in the past funded hundreds of PA terrorists, has been intensifying its recruiting efforts, offering to pay great sums of money to armed men willing to attack Israeli targets.

One PA terrorist -- he told the AP that he is a "former" terrorist -- disclosed how a Hizbullah operative contacted him a day before the Sharm al-Sheikh summit and offered him a substantial sum of money in exchange for carrying out violent acts. According to this source, groups of 5-6 Hezbolla recruits are paid from $5,000 - $8,000 for weapons, ammunition, and ongoing terror activities. Payment includes free use of a cellular phone.

Sure, it sounds like a good deal, but they get you on the roaming charges.

Seriously, though, it's encouraging news that market forces have pushed up the going rate for suicide bombings, hitting Hizbullah where it hurts: the wallet. Apparently, with Arafat gone and a nominal cease-fire in place, fewer Palestinians are willing to blow themselves up. And when demand outstrips supply, prices rise.

But beyond this helpful Econ 101 refresher lies a troubling development: For Hamas, Fatah, and other Palestinian terror groups, Hizbullah represents a loophole in the supposed Israeli-Palestinian truce.

...A PA military officer charged with supervising “radical” groups has pointed out that Hizbullah attempts to find out the bank account numbers of its operatives in the PA, as well as the names of terrorist perpetrators, by way of e-mail exchanges.

The officer claims that he has read some of these exchanges and that the “humanitarian” bureau within the PA “supervises” the bank transfer of money from the Hizbullah to terrorists within the PA.

The officer also claims that he has notified the PA leadership of the Hizbullah activity, but has not received any instructions to intervene to preclude such operations or arrest terrorists.

What we're seeing here is the terrorism equivalent of a company forming a new subsidiary to evade legal restrictions.

For example, Halliburton does business in Iran through the Cayman Islands-based Halliburton Products & Services Ltd. -- thus, it claims, dodging a U.S. trade embargo against Tehran. You don't have to be a Cheney-bashing conspiracy theorist to find that arrangement inappropriate.

Analogously, it looks like Palestinian terror attacks in Israel will still be carried out, but under new, Lebanese management. If Israel complains, Abbas will point out, conveniently, that he can't be expected to control a foreign group like Hizbullah. (In fact, he might even claim that Hizbullah is his enemy.)

And make no mistake, Hizbullah is out for blood:

...Hizbullah terrorist chieftain Hassan Nasrallah declared last week that violent opposition to Israel will continue and will not stop under any circumstances. He was quoted by Al-manar television on February 9th as saying, “This is the year of unrelenting opposition, preserving the opposition and standing firm in opposition, which is our choice, our way and faith, and a pan-Arab, Islamic national struggle.”

A businesses using legal technicalities to evade regulations is frustrating. A terrorist group doing it is lethal. And if the Lebanese loophole isn't sewn shut, terror attacks against Israelis will continue.