Implied U.S. Criticism Of Palestinians Colors Report
WASHINGTON, April 30
(News Agencies) - Implied criticism by the U.S. State Department of the Palestinian Authority's (PA) handling of "terrorism" within Israel and the territories marked the release Monday of the 2000 Global Terrorism report.
Relying solely on unsubstantiated reports from the Israelis, however, the report made only scant mention of the actions of Fatah, the resistance movement of Palestinian Liberation Organization head Yasser Arafat, who on Sunday ordered the group to disband amid widespread protests.
The report cited public expressions of dissatisfaction by Israeli officials for Palestinian Authority "counter terrorism" efforts during the crisis, and mentioned Israeli accusations against PA security and Fatah members for "facilitating and taking part in shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli targets."
Iran, supportive of "Palestinian rejectionist efforts to disrupt the Middle East peace process" was atop the list of seven countries the United States still considers state sponsors of terrorism.
Iraq, Syria, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Cuba - despite no reports of terrorist acts originating from or occurring within the communist-ruled island nation - round out the seven states on a list that has not changed since 1993.
Because Afghanistan, considered home base for the international movement led by Osama bin Laden - whose emissaries are suspected of committing the most heinous global crimes in 2000, according to the report - is ruled by the Taliban militia, unrecognized by the United States, it does not appear as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The State Department reported an increase of eight percent in the number of terrorist attacks in 2000, which killed 405 people and wounded 791, compared to 233 and 706 respectively in 1999.
