Hamas in internet plea for funds

The extremist Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been responsible for dozens of terror attacks on Israeli civilians as well as guerrilla operations against occupying troops, has launched a website appeal for funds.

Using the language of a shopping channel Hamas (Islamic Resistance) boasts about what a good investment its weapons are.

The Izzedine al-Qassam armed wing of Hamas asks it internet supporters to consider the cost of modern terrorism and observes that a single .762 calibre bullet for an AK 47 assault rifle costs $3. The weapon itself is a whopping $2,000.

"Did you know that anti-tank missiles costs $12,000 each and a kilogramme of TNT (popular among martyrs) costs $100?," asks the website.

But Hamas - which was originally created by Israeli intelligence to counter balance Yassir Arafat's influence on the Palestinians - pledges good value for money for the investor in terrorism, or resistance against the Zionist Entity as its supporters would prefer to see things. The website explains: "Hamas fighters have killed 65 per cent of the Israelis who have died in the current intifada".

In Gaza, where Hamas and Islamic Jihad have most support among the 1.1 million Palestinians held behind a wire fence separating them from Israel, guerrilla groups have been preparing for an Israeli invasion they say they are hoping will come.

Few terrorist attacks have been launched inside Israel from Gaza, and the fence which surrounds it is regarded by many Israelis as the best defence against Palestinian terror on Israeli streets. But Gazans are proud of the record of attacks on Jewish settlers living in illegal colonies inside the Gaza Strip and of attacks on the soldiers defending them.

"There is a sense of keen anticipation," said a senior source in the Palestinian Authority. "Many militants want the Israelis to attack Gaza so they can prove themselves and use the 'surprises' they have in store."

The Hamas website also asks for funding for research and development. "We are developing secret weapons which we cannot tell you about but which require a lot of funds," it says.

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the crippled cleric who is the spiritual leader of Hamas, has been touring the Gaza Strip calling for greater support in the form of money and weapons. His organisation has been behind waves of suicide bombings - many of them timed to blast away signs of a diplomatic breakthrough during the conflict. Less than a day after US Secretary of State Colin Powell left the region at the end of a fruitless 10-day peace mission, it was clear that neither side had taken anything he had to say to heart. He called on Israel to speed up with withdrawal from the West Bank towns and cities it invaded three weeks ago, but Nablus remained the scene of fighting and Bethlehem is still under a 24-hour curfew.

Troops pulled back from central Jenin, but were beginning to surround the city and establish a "buffer zone" which will encircle it for some time to come.

President George Bush and Mr Powell have repeatedly called for an end to the construction of Jewish settlements on Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory, which are illegal under international law.

But Israeli defence minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer has given the go-ahead for 16 new dwellings to be built by Jews in the heart of the ancient city of Hebron.

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