MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Evidence of Iranian-Palestinian collusion first came to light in early January, when Israel intercepted the Karine A ship carrying more than 50 tons of weapons from Iran to the Gaza Strip.
But Israeli and American sources now believe the weapons shipment is part of a larger alliance between Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and the Iranian government, which is seen to be aiding the Palestinian terror effort against Israel.
Among the findings reported in this week's New York Times:
*Iranian and Palestinian leaders met in Moscow last May, renewing a relationship that had suffered since the Palestinians entered the Oslo peace process with Israel in 1993. Iran allegedly supports the Palestinian Authority and terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad with military training and financial support.
*Arafat is believed to have personally approved the relationship with Tehran. The Palestinian Authority offered Iran access to Palestinian intelligence on Israeli military positions and defenses in exchange for weapons and money.
*Intelligence reports show that Iran is harboring and possibly aiding members of the Al Qaida terrorist network. Al Qaida members have used Iran as a staging area for future attacks against Israel, according to reports.
*Iranian charitable organizations have begun funding Palestinian groups, and Palestinian wounded have been treated at Iranian hospitals, where they are recruited as militants.
"The crux is not so much in the details of the relationship, as in the larger picture," said Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum. "Enemies of the United States are increasingly finding it useful and necessary to work together."
Some pro-Israel activists in Washington, who have warned about Iran for years, say the United States should realize that the threat to Israel and the United States from Iran is equal to that from Iraq.
"To the extent that the administration is focused on Iraq, we continue to work to make sure Iran is still on the radar screen," an official with one American Jewish organization said.
The collaboration also shows that Arafat is pursuing a terrorist option, said Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
"The sad truth is that Arafat has not closed the door for terrorism," he said. "Arafat talks to the West about his desire to achieve a cease-fire, but is cooperating with groups like Hezbollah."
The concern over the alliance and its implications for any cease-fire Arafat signs, has led pro-Israel activists to rethink legislation they have been pushing in Congress.
The Middle East Peace Commitments Act, introduced by Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), currently calls for the Bush administration to assess whether the Palestinian Authority is in compliance with agreements it signed with Israel, and to impose sanctions if it is not.
But talks have begun about bypassing the assessment portion of the bill and stating unequivocally that the Palestinian Authority is not complying with a 1994 peace agreement implementing the principles of the Oslo peace process.
That would force the president to implement sanctions or use a national security waiver to bypass the law. Because the waiver is normally implemented, the bill and any changes made to it are seen as largely symbolic.
No changes have been made to the legislation, Ackerman's spokesman said, and no dates have been set for hearings on the bill. The new language could come in a different bill or as part of the annual foreign operations appropriations bill, Jewish officials said.
Pro-Israel activists say they will keep reminding the Bush administration about the Palestinian Authority's links to Iran and the Karine A incident when making decisions about Middle East diplomacy, including this week's U.S. calls for Israel to allow Arafat to attend the Arab League summit in Beirut.
There is very little the United States can do formally to curtail Iran's involvement with terrorist groups. The government has no relations with Iran and lists it as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Iran-Libya Sanctions Act, renewed last year by Congress, prohibits foreign investment in the Iranian oil industry.
Earlier this year, President Bush named Iran as part of an "axis of evil," along with Iraq and North Korea.
While the United States has acknowledged Iran's role in terrorism, the Bush administration has not thoroughly grasped the interconnectivity of terrorist groups in the Middle East, Pipes said.
"Iranians see themselves as leaders of anti-American forces in the area. We have not come to understand what threat to America radical forces in the Middle East constitute."
Despite the sometimes strained relationship between Iran and the Palestinian Authority, the two groups have come together because of shared interest against Israel. The Karine A, captured by Israel in January, was believed to be one of several attempts to smuggle weapons to the Palestinian territories.
It's unlikely the Bush administration will take military action against Iran, at the very least until any attack on Iraq is finished.
"We've taken some of the simple steps, and the future steps are more difficult," Pipes said. "Anybody who is serious about changing the behavior of another state can't preclude military options."
Patrick Clawson, research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the information may lead to a reassessment of U.S. strategy toward Iran, which currently rests mostly on support for supposed reformers in the regime.
"Instead of thinking of how we can reach out to the Iranians, now we are looking at how to put more pressure on them," he said.
Clawson notes that some members of Iran's Parliament have spoken out against the country's role in the Karine A affair -- despite Iran's official denials -- and openly questioned whether Iran should be antagonizing the United States amid its war on terrorism.
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