The Internet as a battleground used by the terrorist ... · PDF fileThe Internet as a battleground used by the terrorist organizations: How Hezbollah and Hamas exploit the Internet

August 1, 2007

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC)

The Internet as a battleground used by the terrorist

organizations: How Hezbollah and Hamas exploit the Internet

in the battle for hearts and minds, and how to combat them

Introduction: The Internet’s importance for Hezbollah, Hamas and the other Islamic

terrorist organizations

1. Hezbollah and Hamas are prominent examples of Islamic terrorist

organizations which learned to exploit the communications revolution of the

last decade. They make extensive use of the media, especially television and

the Internet, in the battle for hearts and minds, waged parallel to the fighting

on the ground. They use the media to disseminate their ideology and political

propaganda, generate public interest in their activities and attempt to win

sympathy and support.

2. For Hezbollah, Hamas and the other terrorist organizations, the computer

keyboard is a weapon no less important than their assault rifles, rockets or

side charges. Beyond the battle for hearts and minds, the Internet has a

variety of other uses:

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A. Maintaining operational links between the organizations’

headquarters, and the operational networks and target

audiences, which are often widely separated by geography (for

example, the Hamas political bureau in Damascus, headed by Khaled

Mashaal, and the organization’s networks in Judea, Samaria and the

Gaza Strip). Websites and surfer forums provide convenient platforms

for transmitting operative instructions to individuals or to an entire

audience (for example, posting bulletins calling for action, such as

appearance at a demonstration.)1 In addition, the Internet is also used to

collect intelligence regarding terrorist attack targets.2

B. Acquiring operational knowhow. Terrorist operatives use the

Internet’s technical sites which contain information about topics such as

making explosives and constructing rockets. That is particularly

important for the Palestinian terrorist organizations, which do not have

standard advanced weapons such as those possessed by Hezbollah.

C. Collecting donations. In recent years there has been an increase in

the amount of funds collected through the Internet for Islamic

“charitable societies.” The Islamic terrorist organizations, including

Hezbollah and Hamas, use their vast networks of “charitable societies” to

fund its civilian wing, although a portion of the money also leaks into

funding terrorist activities.

3. The importance of marketing Islamic terrorist organization ideology and

disseminating its propaganda through satellite TV and the Internet grew after

the events of September 11, 2001. On the other hand, in recent years the

United States, and to a lesser degree other countries, have hampered the

various terrorist organizations’ use of the media. A prominent example is the

restrictions the United States, France and other European countries placed on

the satellite broadcasts of Al-Manar TV, the Hezbollah channel.

1 In that context see the May 3,2007 US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs press release, "TERRORISTS USE INTERNET TO RECRUIT, TRAIN, LAUNCH ATTACKS, Senators Call for U.S. Counter Strategy" at http://www.senate.gov/~govt-aff/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&Affiliation=C&PressRelease_id=1457&Month=5&Year=2007. 2 Ibid.

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4. By using the Internet, Hezbollah and Hamas, like Al-Qaeda and

the global jihad organizations, can evade with relative ease the

difficulties placed in their paths by various governments, including

the United States administration, by claiming privileges of freedom of

speech (guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States

Constitution) and by exploiting the generally accepted principle that the

Internet should not be subject to censorship. That allows it to be the main

conduit for the almost completely unhampered dissemination of radical

Islamic ideology, the encouragement of terrorist attacks, including suicide

bombing attacks, the destruction of Israel and extreme anti-Semitic

propaganda.

5. Hezbollah, Hamas and the radical Islamic terrorist organizations avail

themselves of the Internet to support their terrorist activities and disseminate

their ideology, and use Western Internet hosts to do so. At the same time, they

refute and deny the basic Western principles which are also disseminated by

the Internet, such as democracy, freedom of speech, the equality of women,

etc. Thus it is no wonder that in the Gaza Strip, Internet cafes are a primary

target for fundamentalist Islamic elements.

6. The objective of this study is to examine how Hezbollah and Hamas use the

Internet to wage their battle for hearts and minds and how they exploit the

services of Western companies. At the end of the study ideas and suggestions

are presented for combating the terrorist organizations in the Internet arena,

especially Hezbollah and Hamas. The study is divided into three parts:

A. Part 1: How Hezbollah exploits the Internet in its battle for hearts and

minds.

B. Part 2: How Hamas exploits the Internet in its battle for hearts and

minds.

C. Part 3: Ideas and suggestions for combating the terrorist

organizations on the Internet (specifically Hezbollah and Hamas).

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III... HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh’’’sss IIInnnttteeerrrnnneeettt nnneeetttwwwooorrrkkk

1. Hezbollah has made extensive use of the Internet since the end of

the 1990s. After the second Lebanon war (July-August 2006), during which

many of the organization’s sites folded, Hezbollah upgraded its Internet

network to a great extent. It upgraded some of its sites technologically and

updated them more frequently than before the war, and also added new sites.

2. Today its Internet network has between 15 and 20 sites, some of which

sometimes disappear and reappear. The general characteristics of the network

are as follows:

A. The sites present a unified propaganda theme determined by the

organization’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, based on a comprehensive

Iranian strategic program in line with the regime’s radical

Islamic ideology.

B. The sites’ target audiences are varied and include the

Lebanese (who are given top priority), the Arab-Muslim world

(second in importance) and the West and Israel (given third priority).

C. The sites appear in five languages: Arabic (most important),

English (second in importance) and French, Farsi and Hebrew

(third in importance).3

D. The sites are interactive: At the sites for Radio Nur and Radio

Wa’ad (“The Promise”) surfers can use the Internet to listen to programs

broadcast by Radio Nur, Hezbollah’s radio station. Its Al-Manar TV

broadcasts can also be viewed at both the Al-Manar TV Website and

the Anbaa Website. That allows Hezbollah to circumvent the restrictions 3 There are also Hezbollah supporters’ blogs around the world. In South America, for examples, there are sites and blogs in Spanish which do not belong to the organization but which identify with it and share its more prominent features.

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placed on Al-Manar TV’s broadcasts by the United States and several

European countries.

3. The most prominent themes found on the Hezbollah Websites

are the following:4

A. Hezbollah is “the shield of Lebanon:” Hezbollah nurtures its

image as a strong, legitimate Lebanese organization with advanced

operational capabilities, which defends Lebanese against “Israeli

aggression.”

B. Hezbollah won the second Lebanon war. After the war

Hezbollah worked hard to foster the myth of its “divine victory.” The

findings of the Winograd Committee5 were used to spread and inculcate

the myth.

C. Fostering the personality cults of Hassan Nasrallah and the

Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei, the Iranian source of religious

authority.

D. Terrorism, justified by the ideologies of jihad, shahadah (death

as a martyr for the sake of Allah and muqawamah (“active resistance,”

i.e., terrorism and violence), is a legitimate course of action.

E. Virulent incitement against Israel, the Zionist movement,

the Jewish people, the United States and the West. In addition to

anti-Semitism there are calls for the destruction of Israel.

4 For further information see the Bulletin entitled “Hezbollah as a case study of the battle for hearts and minds” 5 The Israeli Winograd Committee examined the actions and decision-making of the IDF and the Israeli government during the second Lebanon war.

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/hezbollah_e_0607.pdf

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4. Hezbollah’s Internet capabilities clearly surpass those of an

ordinary terrorist organization in both scope and quality, and are

another expression of the support Iran gives the organization. Iranian aid

includes the massive funding necessary to operate the organization’s many

Websites and preserve their high technical quality and frequent updating.

5. Technical support and assistance are provided by Internet service

providers based in the United States (nine companies), Canada (two

companies) and Syria (three companies). The support and assistance are, in

part, as follows (as of July 2007):7

A. During the eight months since our last examination (December

2006) there has been a trend to return to companies in the United

States and Canada. The current examination has shown that most of

Hezbollah’s Websites, like those of the global jihad and radical

Islam, are supported by Western hosts and ISPs, particularly those in

the United States.8

B. Four new leading sites in various languages are supported by the

Syrian Telecommunications Establishment, and two by an

Iranian company. In our assessment, that has been done to

ensure the continuous operation of important sites and make

them impervious to external pressure.

C. The blog sites in Spanish in South America which identify with

Hezbollah and preach violence and hatred are assisted by large American

companies such as Yahoo and Microsoft; one of them is assisted by an

Argentinean company.

6 This Bulletin is an update of “Terrorism and Internet: Hezbollah’s widespread use of the Internet as a means to distribute anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish, and anti-American incitement as part of the war for the hearts and minds” 7 This section of the study is based on information from the Websites Hagana and Whois. 8 See the MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 374 of July 19, 2007, entitled “The Enemy Within: Where Are the Islamist/Jihadist Websites Hosted, and What Can Be Done about It?” at http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA37407. (Henceforth MEMRI, “The Enemy Within.”)

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/hezbollah_int_e.pdf

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D. Some of the sites are supported by more than one ISP. That is

apparently done to make it easier to find a substitute for a site should it

crash.

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6. Hezbollah’s Websites can be classified into seven main groups according to

content:

A. Group 1: Main news sites.

B. Group 2: Communications sites.

C. Group 3: Local south Lebanon town and village sites.

D. Group 4: Social institution sites.

E. Group 5: The site dedicated to Samir Kuntar, the symbol of

Hezbollah’s campaign to release prisoners in Israeli jails.

F. Group 6: Forum sites affiliated and identified with Hezbollah.

G. Group 7: Spanish-language sites and blogs in South America

identified with Hezbollah.

GGGrrrooouuuppp 111::: HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh’’’sss mmmaaaiiinnn nnneeewwwsss sssiiittteeesss

7. Hezbollah’s leading news site is Al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyya –

Lubnan (The Islamic Resistance -- Lebanon), whose Internet address is

www.moqawama.org. It can also be accessed through

www.moqawama.tv, www.ghaliboun.net, www.hizbollah.org,

www.rasrollah.org, and www.hizbollah.tv. In the past

www.moqawama.info and www.moqawama.net were also active.

6. Hezbollah has other important news sites. Moqavemat, which

appears in five languages (www.moqavenat.ir and

www.moqavemat.com), Shi’aWeb (www.shiaweb.org), Wa’ad

(www.wa3ad.org), Sumud (“steadfastness”) (www.somod.org), Anbaa

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(“news”) (www.inbaa.com) and the Islamic Digest

(www.islamicdigest.net).

TTThhheee AAAlll---MMMuuuqqqaaawwwaaammmaaahhh aaalll---IIIssslllaaammmiiiyyyyyyaaa ––– LLLuuubbbnnnaaannn sssiiittteee

Al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyya – Lubnan’s July 1, 2007 home page. It is Hezbollah’s leading news site. The conciliatory headline reads, “Yes to unity, no to civil war.” (In effect, Hezbollah strives to collapse the Siniora government and undermine Lebanese unity.) Under the headline appear news flashes from the newspaper Al-Intiqad, owned by Hezbollah.

A picture which appeared on July 16, 2007, of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Defense Minister Amir Peretz and former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz with “collapse” written in Arabic. The site has posted the picture for several months. Hezbollah’s Websites joined forces in the campaign to present the myth that Hezbollah won the second Lebanon war.

Technical information

IP address: 66.198.41.116

ISP: Syrian Telecommunications Establishment, Syria

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TTThhheee MMMoooqqqaaavvveeemmmaaattt sssiiittteee999

The July 1, 2007 Moqavemat home page. At the right there is a link to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV Website and at the left a cartoon of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak supported by the United States, standing on the bleeding body of a Palestinian youth (holding a slingshot, his body riddled with bullets), looking into the mirror and saying, “You see, we have no partner for peace.” The caption reads, “Barak gains leadership of the Zionist labor party.”

The Moqavemat home page. The site appears in Arabic, English, French and Hebrew. Hassan Nasrallah’s picture is featured at the top, and next to him armed Hezbollah operatives. The first link is to Jerusalem Day, initiated by Iran, and the second is to photographs from the Palestinian Authority-administered territories which portray Israel in a negative light. The site also features a picture of former Defense Minister Amir Peretz holding a pair of capped binoculars; it has been posted for several months.

9 Moqavemat is Farsi for “resistance.” Hezbollah and the Palestinian terrorist organizations frequently use the term “resistance,” the idea borrowed from the French Résistance of the Second World War. Its objective is to use the connotation of the French resistance to justify terrorism and to represent it as an act of self defense against a foreign occupier.

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The Hebrew version of Moqavemat. The translation is faulty at best, and probably done by computer program.

TTThhheee vvvaaarrriiiooouuusss lllaaannnggguuuaaagggeeesss iiinnn wwwhhhiiiccchhh ttthhheee MMMoooqqqaaavvveeemmmaaattt sssiiittteee aaappppppeeeaaarrrsss

English Hebrew

French Arabic

“Israelis call upon former Minister of War [sic] to murder the Palestinian interior minister.”

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Farsi


1) Moqavemat.com

IP address: 217.218.165.222

ISP: Datacommuncations Co, Iran

2) Moqavemat.ir

IP address: 217.218.165.222

ISP: Datacommuncations Co, Iran

Note: The site has several additional addresses

TTThhheee AAAlll---UUUdddwwwaaannn aaalll---EEEeeesssrrraaaiiillliii aaalllaaa LLLuuubbbnnnaaannn sssiiittteee (((“““IIIsssrrraaaeeellliii hhhooossstttiiillliiitttyyy tttooowwwaaarrrddd LLLeeebbbaaannnooonnn”””)))

The homepage for July 10, 2007. Bush raising his hand in an approximation of the Nazi salute, with the American flag and Ehud Olmert in the background. The site links from Al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyya – Lubnan.


IP address: 66.198.41.116


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The site’s homepage fosters Hassan Nasrallah’s personality cult

Exploiting the Internet for anti-Israeli and anti-American incitement: The Shi’aWeb home page, July 10, 2007. The inscription between the two upper pictures reads “Terrorists.” To its right are pictures of Ehud Olmert, Amir Peretz, Dan Halutz, President George Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UN Ambassador John Bolton.


IP address: 209.62.29.90

ISP: Everyones Internet, Houston, Texas, USA, owned by Theplanet.com

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TTThhheee SSSuuummmuuuddd sssiiittteee

Mud-slinging at rivals: The Sumud May 6, 2007 homepage portrays Hezbollah’s Lebanese rivals as promoting civil war, especially Sa’ad al-Hariri and Walid Jumblatt.

More mud-slinging: The Sumud July 1, 2007 homepage calls the entire Lebanese opposition to Hezbollah, headed by Sa’ad al-Hariri, Walid Jumblatt and Fuad Siniora, “traitors.”


IP address: 209.62.29.93

ISP: Everyones Internet, Houston, Texas, USA, owned by Theplanet.com

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TTThhheee AAAnnnbbbaaaaaa sssiiittteee

From the May 13, 2007 Anbaa Website: an editorial piece entitled “Religion as a pretext for American polity in the Middle East.” Beneath it is one called “The Covenant of the [Hezbollah] Shaheeds,” photographed by Al-Manar TV as part of the “martyrs for the sake of Allah” cult. Al-Manar TV can also be viewed in real time through the site.

Establishing the myth of victory in the second Lebanon war: Anbaa’s July 1, 2007 home page: At the left a picture of Ehud Olmert, Amir Peretz and Dan Halutz under the title “The Winograd [Committee] earthquake.” There are links to articles about Israel’s failures in the second Lebanon war, which are used to establish the myth of the “divine victory.”


IP address: 64.177.147.30

ISP: Alabanza, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

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TTThhheee IIIssslllaaammmiiiccc DDDiiigggeeesssttt sssiiittteee

The Islamic Digest homepage, a news site in English, whose objective is getting Hezbollah messages to the West and to Arab-Muslim communities living there. The language is bland and easy-going compared to the Arabic sites.


IP address: 209.172.35.181

ISP: Group iWeb Technologies Inc., Canada

TTThhheee WWWaaa’’’aaaddd sssiiittteee111000

(((“““TTThhheee PPPrrrooommmiiissseee”””)))

Promoting Hezbollah’s internal Lebanese agenda: The headline for May 6, 2007 shows a child, writing next to a picture of Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, “We want a national unity government.” (In effect, Hezbollah aspires to take over the government.)

10 “The true promise” (al-wa’ad al-sadeq) is Hezbollah’s name for the second Lebanon war, named after Hassan Nasrallah’s promise to achieve the release of Lebanese prisoners by abducting IDF soldiers.

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The site’s July 1, 2007 homepage: A link to two video clips taken from Al-Manar TV, about Hadi Nasrallah, Hassan’s son, killed in a clash with the IDF. In the videos he is represented as a hero of the war against Israel, part of the fostering of Hassan Nasrallah’s personality cult.


IP address: 208.64.29.122

ISP: Versaweb.net Inc., USA

GGGrrrooouuuppp 222::: HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh’’’sss cccooommmmmmuuunnniiicccaaatttiiiooonnnsss sssiiittteeesss

9. Hezbollah’s leading communications sites are the following:

A. Al-Manar TV’s site, which can be accessed through

www.manartv.com.lb and www.almanar.com.lb;

B. Radio Nur, at www.al-nour.net;

C. Al-Intiqad, Hezbollah’s online publication, at

www.intiqadonline.com, www.alintiqad.com and www.alahed.org. A site

devoted to a Hezbollah religious publication, www.baqiatollah.org, is

currently inactive.

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TTThhheee AAAlll---MMMaaannnaaarrr TTTVVV sssiiittteee

Al-Manar TV’s home page. Its news items come from Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV channel, the organization’s leading medium. Using the Internet surfers can receive Hezbollah television broadcasts, circumventing the restrictions placed on Al-Manar TV by the United States and several European countries.

Extensive coverage of Palestinian terrorist attacks and IDF counterterrorist activities. The July 1, 2007 homepage’s headline: Six shaheeds resulting from two aerial attacks by the [Israeli] occupation in the Gaza Strip.


IP address: 72.55.164.14

ISP: Group iWeb Technologies Inc., Canada

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TTThhheee RRRaaadddiiiooo aaalll---NNNuuurrr sssiiittteee

The Radio al-Nur home page: its programs are streamed through the site.


IP address: 82.137.205.249


TTThhheee wwweeeeeekkklllyyy AAAlll---IIInnntttiiiqqqaaaddd sssiiittteee

The site of the weekly Al-Intiqad (“Criticism”), published by Hezbollah every Friday (sometimes referred to as Al-Intiqidad al-Ahed).


The site had two addresses:

1) www.alintiqad.com

IP address: 208.96.29.154

ISP: ServePath.com, San Francisco, California, USA

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2) www.intiquadonline.com11

IP address: 82.137.205.249


GGGrrrooouuuppp 333::: HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh’’’sss lllooocccaaalll sssooouuuttthhh LLLeeebbbaaannnooonnn tttooowwwnnn aaannnddd vvviiillllllaaagggeee sssiiittteeesss

10. The purpose of the Internet sites of the towns and villages in south

Lebanon is to strengthen the connection between Hezbollah and the

population living in the area where the operational heart of the organization

has been established, and to foster the memories of the shadeeds who came

from south Lebanon. Three such sites are those of Bint Jbeil

(www.bintjbeil.com), Al-Taibeh (www.altaybeh.net) and Deir Qanoun al-

Nahr (www.deirqanounalnahr.jeeran.com).

TTThhheee BBBiiinnnttt JJJbbbeeeiiilll sssiiittteee

From the site of the town of Bint Jbeil, one of Hezbollah’s most important strongholds in south Lebanon. The page is devoted to Hezbollah shaheeds from Bint Jbeil killed in the second Lebanon war. In the background is a poem of praise for dying the death of a martyr for the sake of Allah.


IP address: 209.35.189.203

ISP: Interland Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

11 Currently inactive.

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TTThhheee AAAlll---TTTaaaiiibbbeeehhh sssiiittteee

From the site of the town of Al-Taibeh: A page devoted to shaheeds for al-Taibeh; to the right a picture of Khomeini (July 10, 2007)

TTThhheee DDDeeeiiirrr QQQaaannnooouuunnn aaalll---NNNaaahhhrrr sssiiittteee

From the site of the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr: Commemoration of Hezbollah operatives from the town who were killed in the second Lebanon war.


IP address: 208.64.30,194

ISP: Versaweb.net Inc., USA

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GGGrrrooouuuppp 444::: HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh’’’sss sssoooccciiiaaalll iiinnnssstttiiitttuuutttiiiooonnn sssiiittteeesss

11. Hezbollah’s social institution sites include:

A. Dar al-Hadi, a publishing house (www.darelhadi.com, a recent

addition);

B. The Shaheed Institution (www.alshahid.org);

C. The Al-Mahdi Scouts (www.almahdiscouts.org, currently inactive);

D. Jihad al-Binaa (www.jihadbinaa.org, an organization for promoting

rehabilitation and construction; the site is currently inactive).

TTThhheee DDDaaarrr aaalll---HHHaaadddiii pppuuubbbllliiissshhheeerrrsss’’’ sssiiittteee

The Dar al-Hadi homepage. They organization publishes books about Hezbollah, religious tracts and books about the legacy of the Ayatollah Khomeini.


IP address: 75.126.35.34

ISP: Softlayer, Dallas, Texas, USA

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TTThhheee SSShhhaaahhheeeeeeddd IIInnnssstttiiitttuuutttiiiooonnn sssiiittteee

The homepage of the Shaheed Institution, an Iranian institution with branches in Lebanon. It focuses on glorifying the organization’s “martyrs” and dealing with their families. A picture of Khomeini, who founded the institution, appears on the masthead.


IP address: 82.137.205.250

ISP: Syrian Telecommunications Establishment, Syria.

GGGrrrooouuuppp 555::: TTThhheee sssiiittteee fffooorrr ppprrrooommmoootttiiinnnggg ttthhheee rrreeellleeeaaassseee ooofff ttthhheee mmmuuurrrdddeeerrreeerrr,,, SSSaaammmiiirrr KKKuuunnntttaaarrr

12. Hezbollah has dedicated this site to the Druze terrorist Samir Kuntar, who

murdered the Haran family in Nahariya in 1972. Its address is

www.samirkuntar.org.

www.samirkuntar.org was established to promote the release of murderer Samir Kuntar and other Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The banner reads “The True Promise” of Hassan Nasrallah (i.e., the promise that was kept), the name given to the operation in which Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were abducted (July 12, 2006), the event which led to the second Lebanon war.

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IP address: 209.157.71.50

ISP: NTT America Inc., Colorado, USA

GGGrrrooouuuppp 666::: FFFooorrruuummm sssiiittteeesss iiidddeeennntttiiifffiiieeeddd wwwiiittthhh

HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh

13. There are a number of sites clearly identified with Hezbollah. The most

prominent is Abu al-Hadi (www.abu-hadi.net)

TTThhheee AAAbbbuuu aaalll---HHHaaadddiii sssiiittteee111222

The forum page of the Abu Hadi site. The pictures are of Leader Ali Khamenei, and to his right, Hassan Nasrallah.

12 Abu Hadi means “father of Hadi,” i.e., Hassan Nasrallah.

Ali Khamenei and Hassan Nasrallah

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The Abu Hadi homepage. A game called “The True Promise” can be downloaded, enabling the player to refight the battles between Hezbollah and the IDF in the second Lebanon war.


IP address: 74.220.202.30

ISP: Bluehose.com., Utah, USA

TTThhheee MMMuuullltttaaaqqqaaa aaalll---JJJaaannnuuubbb aaalll---MMMuuukkkaaawwwiiimmm sssiiittteee (((TTThhheee FFFooorrruuummm ooofff ttthhheee FFFiiiggghhhtttiiinnnggg SSSooouuuttthhh)))111333

The site’s homepage

An image taken from the site. It first appeared on the Hezbollah-affiliated Bint Jbeil site. To the right, a picture of a “shaheed,” to the left, Ali Khamenei.

13 The site is currently inactive.

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GGGrrrooouuuppp 777::: SSSpppaaannniiissshhh---lllaaannnggguuuaaagggeee sssiiittteeesss aaannnddd bbblllooogggsss iiinnn SSSooouuuttthhh AAAmmmeeerrriiicccaaa iiidddeeennntttiiifffyyyiiinnnggg wwwiiittthhh HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh

14. There are Spanish-language sites and blogs in South America

identifying with Hezbollah. They are clearly South American in style but call

themselves “Hezbollah,” use the organization’s symbols, terminology and

themes. The sites send messages clearly intended to incite terrorism.

Apparently Ali Fayyad, a member of Hezbollah’s political council and the

director of its Center for Research and Documentation, serves as a kind of

liaison between Hezbollah and such sites.

TTThhheee HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh iiinnn VVVeeennneeezzzuuueeelllaaa sssiiittteee

The site (groups.msn.com/justiciadivinavenezuela) is dedicated to Hezbollah and belongs to a group called Hezbollah in Venezuela. In the picture a masked terrorist holds an explosive device with an attached timing device.

HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh iiinnn LLLaaatttiiinnn AAAmmmeeerrriiicccaaa

The homepage of the site at http://es.groups.yahoo.com/groupHezboallah_latina presents news in Spanish under the name Hezbollah in Latin America. The Hezbollah emblem is clearly exhibited on the homepage.

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AAA HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh bbbllloooggg iiinnn VVVeeennneeezzzuuueeelllaaa

A Hezbollah blog in Caracas, Venezuela, at http://blogy.com.ar/caracas. It operates under the aegis of a blog site in Argentina whose address is http://blogy.comar. The Hezbollah emblem is clearly visible on the homepage.

HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh sssiiittteee iiinnn VVVeeennneeezzzuuueeelllaaa

“International line [which is] anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist and advocates a worldwide Islamic theocracy. Against vice, immorality, crime and corruption. Advocates a nation of Islamic theocracy.”

A Venezuelan site at http://groups.msn.com/autonomicaisalmicawayuu. It spreads Islamic ideology under the banner of “political activity as a religious duty.” The site is named for an Indian tribe called the Mayuu, who live in the border region between Colombia and Venezuela, where there are many Shi’ites of Lebanese descent. The individual wearing the Palestinian colors with a keffiyeh around his neck is Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan president.

27

AAA LLLaaatttiiinnn AAAmmmeeerrriiicccaaannn bbbllloooggg ooofff HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh sssyyymmmpppaaattthhhiiizzzeeerrrsss

Hezbollah’s Latin American blog at http://hezboallahpartidoislamico.blogspot.es. It posts pictures inciting violence.

AAA bbbllloooggg ooofff HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh sssyyymmmpppaaattthhhiiizzzeeerrrsss iiinnn EEElll SSSaaalllvvvaaadddooorrr

An El Salvadoran blog at http://groups.msn.com/Hezbollahelsalvador.

Technical information about the Spanish-language blogs

1) groups.msn.com/justiciadivinavenezuela is supported by the

American company, MSN/Microsoft

2) http://es.groups.yahoo.com/groupHezboallah_latina is

supported by the American company, Yahoo.

28

3) http://blogy.com.ar/caracas is supported by the Argentinean

company, Blogy.com.ar.

4) http://groups.msn.com/autonomicaisalmicawayuu is

supported by the American company, MSN/Microsoft.

5) http://hezboallahpartidoislamico.blogspot.es is supported by

the Spanish company blogspot.es.

6) http://groups.msn.com/Hezbollahelsalvador is supported by

the

American company, MSN/Microsoft. The site is currently inactive.

IIIVVV... EEExxxaaammmpppllleeesss ooofff ppprrrooopppaaagggaaannndddaaa aaannnddd iiinnnccciiittteeemmmeeennnttt ooonnn HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh IIInnnttteeerrrnnneeettt sssiiittteeesss

AAAnnntttiii---AAAmmmeeerrriiicccaaannn,,, aaannntttiii---BBBuuussshhh ppprrrooopppaaagggaaannndddaaa

American president George Bush raising his arm in what might be considered a Nazi salute. In the background is the American flag behind which is Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has been given a Hitler-like moustache. At the bottom right is the face of an angry little girl, all on a sheet of flames. The upper inscription reads “The New Middle East” (The Muqawamah Website, November 7, 2006)

American president Bush as a vampire, sucking the blood of the United States, symbolized by the Statue of Liberty (Wa’ad Website, November 7, 2006).

29

AAAnnntttiii---IIIsssrrraaaeeellliii,,, aaannntttiii---SSSeeemmmiiitttiiiccc ppprrrooopppaaagggaaannndddaaa

Anti-Semitic cartoons from the Moqavemat home page (October 31, 2006), taken from the Soviet Union before its disintegration. Left: A spider with the face of a stereotype Jew and “Zionism” written on its back in Russian. The strands of the web read “Sabotage in the workplace,” “Lies,” “Provocation,” “The Jewish Question,” “Anti-Communism” and “Anti-Sovietism.” Right: The arms of an octopus, the symbol of the Jewish plot to take over the world, appear in the background next to the Star of David. The overall message is that the Jews are responsible for the ills of the world.

George Bush taking an axe to the American flag. The Arabic reads “Crime Boss” (Shi’a Web, November 7, 2006. Picture from Al-Manar TV, November 7, 2006).

From the Wa’ad Website, Condoleezza Rice wielding a double-scythed Angel of Death while saying “We will stop the fighting, but only after the death of the last Lebanese child (August 10, 2006).

30

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as Hitler. The Arabic reads “Adolf Olmert” (Shi’a Web,November 7, 2006. Picture from Al-Manar TV, November 7, 2006).

DDDeeellleeegggiiitttiiimmmiiizzziiinnnggg ttthhheee oooppppppooonnneeennnttt iiinnn LLLeeebbbaaannnooonnn

Lebanese prime minister and other Hezbollah opponents represented as American agents (http://www.somod.org, April 25, 2007)

31

PPPaaarrrttt 222

HHHooowww HHHaaammmaaasss eeexxxpppllloooiiitttsss ttthhheee IIInnnttteeerrrnnneeettt iiinnn iiitttsss bbbaaattttttllleee fffooorrr hhheeeaaarrrtttsss aaannnddd mmmiiinnndddsss

III... HHHaaammmaaasss’’’ IIInnnttteeerrrnnneeettt nnneeetttwwwooorrrkkk 21. Like Hezbollah, Hamas considers the Internet as an extremely important

weapon in its battle for hearts and minds. It uses the Internet to send its

messages to target audiences in the Palestinian Authority-

administered territories (the movement’s first priority), the Arab-

Muslim world (second in importance), and the West (third in

importance). Of the Palestinian terrorist organizations, Hamas has the most

widely developed Internet network, and in that respect is far in advance of the

PA controlled by Abu Mazen and of the other Palestinian terrorist

organizations (Fatah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance

Committees and others).

22. Hamas exploits the Internet to disseminate “factual” information

interspersed with propaganda about the movement, its terrorist activities

against Israel, the situation in the internal Palestinian arena (while engaging

in malicious mud-slinging against Abu Mazen and its Fatah rivals) and about

the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general. It spreads propaganda encouraging

terrorism and preaches hatred for Israel, the call to destroy it, anti-Semitism,

and hatred of the United States, Western countries and Western values. In

addition to making extensive use of the Internet in its battle for hearts and

minds, Hamas also uses its Websites to transfer funds from “charitable

societies” abroad to the PA-administered territories.

23. The general characteristics of Hamas’s Internet network are as

follows:

A. Hamas has more than 20 sites, led by Palestine-info, which

appears in eight languages. There are other sites which do not belong

32

to Hamas but which are ideologically affiliated with it and express its

positions and worldview.

B. The entire network operates according to a unified

propaganda strategy. It is directed by a Hamas activist named Nizar

Hussein, who operates in Lebanon under the aegis of the Hamas

representative in Lebanon and receives instructions from Hamas’

information bureau in Damascus.

IIIIII... BBByyy wwwhhhooommm iiisss HHHaaammmaaasss’’’ IIInnnttteeerrrnnneeettt nnneeetttwwwooorrrkkk sssuuuppppppooorrrttteeeddd??? 111444 24. Hamas generally tends to scatter is ISPs and even to receive support

from more than one company for each site. In our assessment that is intended

as a backup device in case a site crashes.

25. A check performed in July 2007 showed that Hamas was supported by

many different and varied ISPs, including:

A. The largest number of Websites (including several of the

leading “news” sites) are assisted by local companies in

Malaysia (seven sites).

B. North America is in second place, especially Canada (four sites),

followed by the United States (three sites).

C. Two sites are assisted by companies in Russia.

D. One site is assisted by a company in the United Arabic Emirates.

E. One site is assisted by a company in Beit Hanina in East

Jerusalem.

26. Hamas sites, like those of Hezbollah and the PIJ, are assisted by Western

companies, including those found in the United States, but they rely on

them to a much lesser degree and prefer those in Malaysia.

14 The check is an update of an examination previous performed on June 6, 2006. For further information see the June 20, 2006 Bulletin entitled “Terrorism and Internet: an examination of Hamas’s websites and the hosting providers used by them”

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/hamas_internet0606e.pdf

33

IIIIIIIII... DDDiiissstttrrriiibbbuuutttiiiooonnn ooofff HHHaaammmaaasss WWWeeebbbsssiiittteee aaaccccccooorrrdddiiinnnggg tttooo cccooonnnttteeennnttt 27. Hamas Websites can be classified into five main groups according to

content (as of the beginning of July 2007):

A. Group 1: “News” sites: The most prominent is Palestine-info,

which appears in eight languages (Arabic, English, French, Russian,

Farsi, Urdu, Malaysian and Turkish). Two of the others are Filastin al-

‘An (“Palestine Now”), and Palestine [through] Voice and Picture,

which specializes in visual material.

B. Group 2: Media sites: Siraj al-Aqsa TV, the daily Felesteen, the

weekly Al-Risala, the monthly Filisteen al-Muslima and the

children’s newspaper, al- Fateh.

C. Group 3: Sites belonging to Hamas’ operational-“security”

forces: The Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades (the movement’s

terrorist-operational wing) and the Executive Force (Hamas’ security

apparatus in the Gaza Strip).

D. Group 4: Civilian institutions.

E. Group 5: Surfer forums.

GGGrrrooouuuppp 111::: HHHaaammmaaasss’’’ nnneeewwwsss sssiiittteeesss

TTThhheee PPPaaallleeessstttiiinnneee---iiinnnfffooo sssiiittteeesss

The home page of the Palestine-info portal, including links to eight languages. The main inscription reads “The voice of Palestine [is turned] to the world and the voice of the world [is turned] to Palestine.”

34

28. Description:

A. This is Hamas’ most important group of sites, and operates under the

general title of the Palestinian Information Center.

B. The homepage makes no reference to Hamas and contains no

links to Hamas sites, in an effort to play down the movement’s

connection.

C. The sites feature background information and news and are updated a

number of times a day.

D. The portal links to sites in Arabic, English, French, Russian, Farsi,

Urdu, Malaysian and Turkish.

E. Each site is tailored to the target audience of the group speaking the

specific language.

PPPaaallleeessstttiiinnneee---iiinnnfffooo sssiiittteeesss iiinnn eeeiiiggghhhttt lllaaannnggguuuaaagggeeesss

English Arabic

35

Farsi Urdu

Russian French

Malaysian Turkish15

15 The Turkish site is new and was added to the network on July 14, 2007. It is in the same style as the others. Its contents are similar but not identical those of the Arabic site.

36

EEExxxaaammmpppllleeesss ooofff PPPaaallleeessstttiiinnneee---iiinnnfffooo sssiiittteee cccooonnnttteeennntttsss

Posters and policy statements

“[Mahmoud] Abbas [i.e., Abu Mazen] has turned into a little local dictator.”

Anti-Israeli propaganda Glorifying suicide bombers

Still picture from an animated sequence on the English site.

Picture of two suicide bombers who carried out an attack at the Erez Crossing on March 24, 2004, and praise for suicide bombers in general.

37

Glorifying female suicide bombers

From a link called “Heroic Stories:” praise for female Palestinian suicide bombers. A mention is made of the fatwa authorizing women to carry out suicide bombing attacks issued by the Egyptian sheikh Yussuf al-Qardawi (currently residing in Qatar).

Indoctrinating the “right to return”

Commemorating 59 years since the “naqba” (“the catastrophe,” i.e., the Palestinian defeat in Israel’s War of Independence): the key is the symbol of the houses vacated by fleeing Palestinians. The lower inscription reads “We are returning.”

Indoctrinating the idea of return: keys symbolizing the villages from which the Palestinians fled during and after the Israeli War of Independence.

38

AAAnnntttiii---IIIsssrrraaaeeellliii ppprrrooopppaaagggaaannndddaaa ooonnn ttthhheee RRRuuussssssiiiaaannn---lllaaannnggguuuaaagggeee sssiiittteee

29. The Russian-language version of Palestine-info displays a large number of

anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic and anti-American cartoons. All of the following are

taken from an Iranian cartoon site called IranCartoon (as of July 15, 2007):16

The Jew as Nazi.

16 For further information see the July 19, 2007 Bulletin entitled “The hate industry: Hamas uses the Internet to disseminate anti-Semitic cartoons to Russian speaking target audiences”

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz up to his knees in a sea of blood, waving a bloody olive branch.

A Jewish vampire feasting on Palestinian blood.

Israel’s security fence turns the West Bank into a concentration camp (Auschwitz is depicted on the wall.).

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/hi_180707e.pdf

39

A cartoon by Hamas’ house cartoonist, Omaya Joha: Condoleezza Rice riding her broomstick on a visit

to the Middle East.

The influence of American Jewry: the remote control directing President Bush.

The Jews are carrying out a holocaust of the Palestinians (part of Iran’s Holocaust denial campaign).

The Holocaust of the Jews compared to the fate of the Palestinians.

A Palestinian crucified on the Americanveto in the Security Council.

The American flag dripping blood into a soldier’s helmet.

40


1) www.palestine-info.info

Hamas’ official Arabic site, operated from Beirut and directed

from Damascus. Appears in seven other languages.

IP address: 213.42.17.48

ISP: Emirate Telecommunications Corporations, Dubai

2) The English site, palestine-info.co.uk

IP address: 202.71.103.178 (used for a number of sites)

ISP: Teledom Multimedia of Telecom, Malaysia

3) The Russian site, palestine-info.co.ru

IP address: 85.249.135.10

ISP: Russian Federation Net of national Telecommunications Ltd., St.

Petersburg, Russia

4) The Urdu site, palestine-info-urdu.com

IP address: 202.71.103.178


5) The Farsi site, palestine-persian.info

IP address: 89.108.64.200

ISP: Agava Dolgoprudny, Russia

6) The Malaysian site, palestine-info.net

IP address: 202.71.103.178


41

TTThhheee FFFiiilllaaassstttiiinnn aaalll---‘‘‘AAAnnn (((“““PPPaaallleeessstttiiinnneee NNNooowww”””))) sssiiittteee

] The Filastin al-‘An Website homepage, which entered the Internet in October 2006. It is widely exploited to defame Fatah and Abu Mazen.


IP address: 217.66.226.15

ISP: Palnet International Network, Israel

The site is registered to TBK Technologica Ben Khaldoun, POB 21632, Beit

Hanina, Jerusalem, Tel. 02-954075 [sic] and to Mustafa Diyab, Palnet

Communications Ltd., POB 21632, Beit Hanina, Jerusalem, Tel. 02-2403434.

TTThhheee PPPaaallleeessstttiiinnneee [[[ttthhhrrrooouuuggghhh]]] VVVoooiiiccceee aaannnddd PPPiiiccctttuuurrreee sssiiittteee

The site’s homepage presents visual material about the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation, and links to Palestine-info.

42

The site offers video clips of shaheed “wills,” songs inciting to violence and gory pictures encouraging violence against IsraelTechnical information


IP address: 202.71.103.138

ISP: Malaysia Telekom Multimedia of Telekom, Malaysia.

GGGrrrooouuuppp 222::: HHHaaammmaaasss’’’ mmmeeedddiiiaaa sssiiittteeesss

TTThhheee AAAlll---AAAqqqsssaaa TTTVVV sssiiittteee

The Al-Aqsa TV Website after its June 2007 upgrading, the July 3 homepage. The main posting concerns a survey claiming that Ismail Haniya, the Hamas prime minister of the Gaza Strip, would win Palestinian Authority elections if they were held now

43

The Al-Aqsa TV site before its June upgrading. Left, Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas’ political bureau in Damascus, is center stage. Right, an interview with sheikh Ra’ed Salah, head of the northern faction of the Islamic Movement in Israel. The interview was part of the anti-Israel propaganda campaign waged after the emergency excavations at the Mugrabi ramp in Jerusalem. He fallaciously stated that Israel was engaged in a destructive activity at the Al-Aqsa mosque and aspired to add to its political conflict with the Palestinians a dimension of religious war against Muslims all over the world.


IP address: 209.172.57.185

ISP: Group iWeb Technologies, Inc., Canada.

TTThhheee dddaaaiiilllyyy FFFeeellleeesssttteeeeeennn sssiiittteee

The homepage of the daily Felesteen (www.felesteen.ps). The site was launched on May 3, 2007, the same day as the newspaper. It is the Gaza Strip’s first newspaper. It represents itself as independent, but in reality the entire staff are Hamas supporters. The paper was established by Hamas as a counterweight to the Palestinian dailies published in the West Bank and which identify with Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).

44


IP address: 75.55.140.72


TTThhheee wwweeeeeekkklllyyy AAAlll---RRRiiisssaaalllaaa sssiiittteee

The homepage of the weekly Al-Risala Website (www.alresalah.info). A scanned version of the magazine can be downloaded. During the conflicts which preceded the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, Al-Risala focused on defaming Abu Mazen and Fatah.


IP address: 75.55.140.23


TTThhheee mmmooonnnttthhhlllyyy FFFiiillliiisssttteeeeeennn aaalll---MMMuuusssllliiimmmaaa TTTVVV sssiiittteee

The homepage of the monthly Filisteen al-Muslima Website (www.fm-m.com). The site fosters hatred for Israel and the West and encourages the use of violence against them.

45


IP address: 202.71.103.178 (The same as the Palestinegallery site)


TTThhheee ccchhhiiillldddrrreeennn’’’sss mmmaaagggaaazzziiinnneee AAAlll--- FFFaaattteeehhh sssiiittteee

The homepage of the children’s magazine Al- Fateh (www.al-fateh.net). According to the homepage, it is published in London and its editor in chief is Sami al-Halabi.

The commemoration of a terrorist operative. The page is devoted to Muhammad Abu Karsh, an Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades operative who launched Qassam rockets into Israel.

46

Indoctrinating children with Hamas’ radical Islamic ideology: the magazine’s “Children of Palestine” section.

Snakes and ladders: the players throw stones at the Israeli soldier in the snake’s body (Islamic anti-Semitism often identifies Jews with snakes).


IP address: 202.71.103.178 (The same address serves a number of Hamas

media sites)


47

GGGrrrooouuuppp 333::: HHHaaammmaaasss’’’ ooopppeeerrraaatttiiiooonnnaaalll---“““ssseeecccuuurrriiitttyyy’’’ sssiiittteeesss

TTThhheee IIIzzzzzzeeedddiiinnneee aaalll---QQQaaassssssaaammm BBBrrriiigggaaadddeeesss sssiiittteee

30. The site of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ terrorist operative

wing, appears in Arabic and English.

The homepage of the Arabic site, www.alqassam.ps. The site reports the organization’s terrorist activities against Israel and glorifies terrorist operatives killed while carrying out attacks.

A poster which appeared on the homepage on June 5, 2006. It commemorates Sa’id al-Houtari, who carried out the deadly attack at the Dolphinarium discoteque in Tel Aviv in June 2001. The inscription under the picture reads: “The shaheed from the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Sa’id al-Houtari, who carried out the action [sic] in Tel Aviv which killed 24 Zionists and wounded many others. The revolution [of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades] still

48

continues…” (The suicide bombing attack at the Dolphinarium killed 21 individuals and wounded more than 100, most of them teenagers.)

The homepage of the English version of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades Website. The site contains “news” of the confrontation with Israel combined with Hamas ideology and propaganda. The enlarged picture is of Fatma Najar, 57, who was sent by Hamas to carry out a suicide bombing attack against IDF soldiers on the outskirts of the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip (November 23, 2006).

Turning suicide bombers into role models: Abd al-Basset Odeh, the Hamas suicide bomber who carried out the suicide bombing attack the Park Hotel in Netanya on March 29, 2002, the single most deadly attack in the Palestinian terrorist campaign, in which 30 civilians were killed and 144 wounded. The suicide bomber was commemorated on a special page of the site dedicated to shaheeds (from the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades English-language Website, June 19, 2007).


IP address: 202.75.48.113


49

TTThhheee EEExxxeeecccuuutttiiivvveee FFFooorrrccceee sssiiittteee 31. The site was launched last year with the establishment of the Executive

Force (Hamas’ security force which operates under the authority of the

interior ministry and played a central role in the Hamas takeover of the Gaza

Strip).

32. The site has a banner updated daily containing news about the Executive

Force, details about its activities, announcements for the public and public

relations material from the Executive Force, opinion postings etc. The site also

has a photo archive and audio-visuals files.


IP address: 205.234.99.87

ISP: Defender Technologies Group, USA.

50

GGGrrrooouuuppp 444::: HHHaaammmaaasss’’’ ccciiivvviiillliiiaaannn iiinnnssstttiiitttuuutttiiiooonnn sssiiittteeesss

TTThhheee AAAlll---MMMuuujjjaaammmaaaaaa aaalll---IIIssslllaaammmiii sssiiittteee

The homepage of the Al-Mujamaa al-Islami site (www.mujamaa.org). Al-Mujamaa al-Islami is an important Hamas “charitable society” which was established in 1973, and is part of Hamas’ civilian infrastructure (the da’wah).


IP address: 75.55.140.23


TTThhheee HHHaaammmaaasss ssstttuuudddeeennnttt wwwiiinnnggg (((TTThhheee IIIssslllaaammmiiiccc BBBllloooccckkk))) sssiiittteee

The Islamic Block site homepage (www.islamic-block.net). The site has songs and video clips encouraging suicide bombing attacks and violence.

51

The upper inscription is the Islamic Block’s address at Al-Najah University in Nablus. The inscription beneath it reads “Committed to knowledge, the

resistance [i.e., terrorism and violence] and creativity.”

The emblem of the Islamic Block flanked by Hamas terrorist operatives.

The home page of an additional Islamic Block site (www.alkotla.com).)

52

A page from the site commemorating students who carried out suicide bombing attacks for Hamas to become shaheeds.


1) www.islamic-block.net.

IP address: 64.202.163.80

ISP: GoDaddy Software, Inc., Arizona, USA.

2) alkotla.com

IP address: 202.186.13.36

ISP: Jaring Communications Sdn Bhd Technology Park, Malyasia.

GGGrrrooouuuppp 555::: HHHaaammmaaasss sssuuurrrfffeeerrr fffooorrruuummmsss

The homepage of www.palestinianforum, which belongs to the Palestinian-info, Hamas’ main Website. It can also be accessed through paldf.net/forum.

A poster from the forum commemorating the suicide bomber who carried out the attack at the old Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv on April 17, 2006. At the right is a poem glorifying the attack; it was composed by one of the surfers.

53

] From the forum, July 3, 2007. A notice regarding a senior Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades operative, Jamal Mansour, who was killed by Israel because of his involvement in a suicide bombing attack. One of the forum participants identifies herself as “deeply desirous of carrying out the religious duty of jihad [holy war].”

An image from the forum: a Qassam rocket writes the worlds “the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.”


IP address: 204.13.160.204

ISP: Oversee.net, Los Angeles, USA.

54

PPPaaarrrttt 333

IIIdddeeeaaasss aaannnddd sssuuuggggggeeessstttiiiooonnnsss fffooorrr cccooommmbbbaaatttiiinnnggg ttteeerrrrrrooorrriiisssttt ooorrrgggaaannniiizzzaaatttiiiooonnnsss ooonnn ttthhheee IIInnnttteeerrrnnneeettt

(((ssspppeeeccciiifffiiicccaaallllllyyy HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh aaannnddd HHHaaammmaaasss)))

OOOvvveeerrrvvviiieeewww 1.The United States and the Western countries (including Israel)

have so far taken no effective measures to cope with the extensive

(and growing) use the terrorist organizations make of the Internet.

The reasons are varied, and include freedom of expression (as well as the lack

of censorship on the Internet), the lack of a single, agreed-upon definition of a

terrorist organization, the lack of awareness of the dangers posed by terrorist

organization use of the Internet and of the need to combat it effectively.

2. We hope that the present study has clarified the threats posed by the

messages of hatred sent by Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist

organizations and by their encouragement of terrorism. Being aware of the

threats, however, is insufficient: strategies must be formulated to combat

them. Naturally, such a struggle is unending and must continue as long as

terrorist organizations exist. Ideas and suggestions regarding combating

terrorist organizations on the Internet, particularly Hezbollah and Hamas,

follow.

WWWhhhaaattt iiisss aaa ttteeerrrrrrooorrriiisssttt ooorrrgggaaannniiizzzaaatttiiiooonnn??? 3. International cooperation is necessary to deal effectively with the use

made by terrorist organizations of the Internet. Effective cooperation can only

55

be achieved if it is based on a common definition and broad-based

agreement of the nature of terrorism and the organizations involved in it.

4. Terrorism is basically a means of waging a political struggle. It makes

deliberate use of various kinds of violence to force governments to change

their policies in a given field and has no moral or legal limitations. Such

kinds of violence include murderous attacks against civilians, and

attacks designed to achieve political, national or religious goals.

5. The international community perceives such violence as illicit and

illegitimate, acts whose perpetrators ought to be severely punished. That is

because those who carry out such acts intentionally choose to harm innocent

civilians to promote their goals (unlike guerilla warfare, which is aimed

against military personnel and security forces). Therefore, organizations

engaged in such activities are perceived as terrorist organizations and the

countries assisting them as state sponsors of terrorism.

6. Hezbollah and Hamas, the two obvious examples of terrorist

organizations discussed in the present document, are officially designated as

terrorist organizations by the United States and Israel. In Europe,

however, the definition is only partial. In Eastern Europe and in

Southeast Asia, they are not defined as terrorist organizations. In the

Middle East, they are perceived as “resistance” organizations struggling

against an occupation and, therefore, their activities are legitimate. The lack of

a single definition makes it very difficult to deal with those two

organizations in various areas, including the Internet. Taking effective

measures against them first calls for a diplomatic campaign to define them

legally as terrorist organizations.

BBBaaannnnnniiinnnggg HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh aaannnddd HHHaaammmaaasss fffrrrooommm ttthhheee IIInnnttteeerrrnnneeettt

56

7. No fundamental distinction should be made between the

terrorist-operative wing of Hezbollah and Hamas and their

civilian, terrorist-supporting organizations. They and other terrorist

organizations must be considered as a single whole, and all their

institutions and affiliated branches should be outlawed. Thus, the

organizations’ media and Internet sites should be outlawed, as they are used

to send messages of hatred and in support of terrorism.

8. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States has

embraced that principle (at least in theory). An important precedent was

set when the United States Treasury Department announced the

implementation of Presidential Decree 13224 against Al-Manar TV, Radio Nur

(Hezbollah’s TV and radio stations), and the Lebanese Media Group (the

Lebanese company operating Al-Manar TV and Radio Nur) on March 23,

2006. Stuart Levey, the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and

Financial Intelligence, said the step had been taken because Al-Manar TV

and Radio Nur were Hezbollah’s “media arms,” and assisted the

organization’s terrorist activities.17

9. According to Stuart Levey, all bodies belonging to a terrorist organization,

even if they represented themselves as a charitable society, a commercial

business or the media, are “as culpable as the terrorist group itself.”

That is an important definition because it makes no difference between the

various institutions and wings of a terrorist organization such as Hezbollah or

Hamas. By the same principle, all elements operating and assisting

the Internet networks of Hezbollah, Hamas and other

organizations defined as terrorist organizations must also be

outlawed in the United States and in other countries combating

terrorism.

17 For details see our May 11, 2007 Information Bulletin: “Hezbollah as a case study of the battle for hearts and minds in the confrontation between Israel and the terrorist organizations”

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/hezbollah_e_0607.pdf

57

MMMeeettthhhooodddsss ooofff cccooommmbbbaaatttiiinnnggg ttthhheee uuussseee mmmaaadddeee bbbyyy HHHeeezzzbbbooollllllaaahhh,,, HHHaaammmaaasss aaannnddd ooottthhheeerrr ttteeerrrrrrooorrriiisssttt ooorrrgggaaannniiizzzaaatttiiiooonnnsss ooofff ttthhheee IIInnnttteeerrrnnneeettt 10. The following are suggestions for combating the use made by

Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist organizations of the

Internet:

A. No country, including the United States and Israel, can fight the

terrorist organization use of the Internet on its own. There must be a

combined international effort, since terrorism does not recognize

borders and is directed against many countries. What is more, terrorist

organizations rely on worldwide Internet providers, not only those

based in the countries where they operate or in states sponsoring

terrorism, such as Iran and Syria.

B. The fight must be interdisciplinary and take place

systematically, persistently and using a variety of tools. It should

have three fronts: the political front, the media front (the battle for

public opinion), and the legal front. A fight on only one front for a

limited period of time will be ineffective.

C. In theory, it is easier to fight terrorist organization exploitation of the

Internet in the United States. Supporters of freedom of

expression (guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution)

are confronted by legislation (which became more strict following

September 11) which gives the administration the tools to protect the

United States and which regards the terrorist organizations’

media networks as inseparable from the organizations

themselves. Nevertheless, the American administration has

not yet formulated a policy which effectively combats terrorist

organization exploitation of the Internet.

D. Countries must block access to terrorist organization Websites and

prevent them from receiving technical assistance. The large

companies, including American-based Internet providers, claim that it

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is technically difficult for them to monitor the contents of the millions of

websites they service. In our assessment, that is an excuse for not taking

action. There are methods of tracking a terrorist organization’s Website

and of keeping it offline. The harm done by terrorist organization

Websites is no less than that of pedophile Websites or those that support

crime.

E. Exposing the Websites’ true identity: terrorist

organizations, including Hamas, attempt to make their sites

difficult to shut down by downplaying their organizational

connection. One Hamas site is called “Palestine-info” rather than “The

Hamas Website.” In October 2005 Osama Hamdan, the Hamas

representative in Lebanon, claimed that Palestine-info was a privately-

owned site. The claim was false, and the true identity of such sites

must be exposed.

F. Terrorist organization Websites can be monitored by intelligence

services and with the assistance of NGOs in the United States, Israel

and other countries. In the past, exposing terrorist sites’ service

providers led to their being shut down by law enforcement authorities,

mainly in the United States. However, that did not seriously

hamper the terrorist websites’ activity. The terrorist organizations

find alternatives, if not in the United States, then in neutral or supportive

countries. Banned websites reappear under different names, at different

addresses and with different Internet providers. It is therefore a game

of cat and mouse, and the cats are not effective enough.

G. On the political front, a struggle must be waged to prevent assistance

being given to terrorist organization Websites as part of the overall

counterterrorism campaign. It should be noted that an Israel Foreign

Ministry delegation headed by former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom

raised the issue of the struggle against terrorist organization use of the

Internet at the World Summit on the Information Society

(WSIS), held in Tunis in November 2005. The closing

announcement, titled “Tunis Agenda for the Information Society,” said

(Paragraph 44): “We also underline the importance of countering

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terrorism in all its forms and manifestations on the Internet,

while respecting human rights in compliance with other obligations

under international law…” The announcement needs further refinement

if it is to be enforced. Politically, too, there is still much to be done.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom delivering a speech at the summit in Tunis: a call for international cooperation in the struggle against the

dissemination of messages of hatred and terrorism on the Internet (Photo courtesy of the Israel Government Press Office)

H. On the media front, the threats inherent in the terrorist

organizations’ use of the Internet must be brought to public attention. Then,

hopefully, public opinion will exert pressure on governments and Internet

companies to take practical measures against the terrorist organizations

using the Web.

SSSppprrreeeaaadddiiinnnggg aaalllttteeerrrnnnaaatttiiivvveee iiinnnfffooorrrmmmaaatttiiiooonnn aaannnddd ppprrreeessseeennntttiiinnnggg aaannn aaalllttteeerrrnnnaaatttiiivvveee iiidddeeeooolllooogggyyy aaannnddd aaa cccooouuurrrssseee ooofff aaaccctttiiiooonnn 11. The measures outlined above may well hamper Hamas’ and Hezbollah’s

Internet activities; however, their effect is limited and their results

will be short-lived. The most effective way of dealing with Islamic terrorist

organizations is to distribute alternative information and present an

alternative ideology and a course of action. That is a challenge for both

60

Western countries and the Arab-Muslim world, and it may lead to long-term

results.18

12. Hezbollah and Hamas extensively present ostensibly news-related, at

times even attractive information, so that the various target audiences (neutral

as well as hostile) will adopt and use it. Both cleverly exploit their access to

and sometimes even monopoly of information disseminated from south

Beirut, south Lebanon or the Gaza Strip. They monitor reporters stationed in

the areas they control, prevent access to information and allow access and

even exclusivity to the information they want to distribute.

13. The countries that fight terrorist organizations, including the Palestinian

Authority headed by Abu Mazen and the Lebanese government headed by

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, must disseminate their own information as an

alternative to that of terrorist organizations. Even though the organizations

have advantages when it comes to access to information, countries have

advantages of their own. The Palestinian Authority and the Lebanese

government have tools to bypass the restrictions imposed by Hamas and

Hezbollah on information originating in the Gaza Strip or south Lebanon.

Israel and Western countries have intelligence services capable of secretly

collecting information on Hezbollah and Hamas. These relative

advantages make it possible to deal with the attempts made by

terrorist organizations to monopolize some of the verbal and visual

information about their activities.

14. In the past, the assistance of intelligence in the battle for hearts and minds

was not one of the “classic” tasks of intelligence in the war on terrorism;

however, as the impact of the battle for hearts and minds as it relates to the

struggle against terrorism increases, the importance of intelligence increases

as well. Intelligence services in Israel and in Western countries must adapt to

the new challenges posed by the struggle against terrorism and the media

18 On the struggle against global jihad organizations and radical Islamic organizations, see MEMRI: “The Enemy Within.”

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revolution, and significantly improve the quality their assistance in the battle

for hearts and minds, including on the Internet.19

The rocket

Launching rockets from population centers: while Hezbollah kept visual information on its activities in south Lebanon out of its reporters’ reach, the intelligence services must make such information publicly available. The aerial photograph shows a rocket being launched from a launcher situated between two buildings in a south Lebanon village.

15. However, distributing alternative information, whether on the Internet

or through other media, is insufficient. The real confrontation with Hamas

and Hezbollah (and what they represent) requires the pragmatic elements in

the Palestinian Authority, in Lebanon, and in the Arab-Muslim world to

present an alternative ideology and an alternative course of action. They

must provide solutions other than those of Hamas and Hezbollah, both to the

internal difficulties in the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon and to the

Israeli-Palestinian confrontation. The desire to eliminate the State of Israel

through violence and terrorism must be countered by a recognition of Israel’s

right to exist as a Jewish state alongside a Palestinian state, and by a

resolution through dialogue of the problems of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

19 For more details, see article by Reuven Erlich titled “The role of intelligence in the battle for hearts and minds” July 22, 2007

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/ct_220707e.pdf

62

MMMaaarrrkkkeeetttiiinnnggg iiinnnfffooorrrmmmaaatttiiiooonnn ooonnn ttthhheee IIInnnttteeerrrnnneeettt

16. Hezbollah and Hamas invest great effort in marketing their information

and sending messages in multilingual websites tailored to their target

audiences. Even at a time of financial distress, Hamas operates websites in

eight languages, while Hezbollah does so in five (see Table).

17. Countries struggling against terrorism, including the United States, the

European countries and Israel, have sufficient resources to market their

information in more languages than they currently do, the only thing needed

is awareness of the importance of the matter and to unite in the common

cause. If Hezbollah and Hamas can find the necessary resources, there is no

reason why Israel, the United States and the European countries

cannot, and even more successfully.

MMMaaarrrkkkeeetttiiinnnggg iiinnnfffooorrrmmmaaatttiiiooonnn aaabbbooouuuttt ttteeerrrrrrooorrriiisssmmm iiinnn vvvaaarrriiiooouuusss lllaaannnggguuuaaagggeeesss ooonnn ttthhheee IIInnnttteeerrrnnneeettt

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22

1

6

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1

0

1

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HezbollahHamasForeignMinistry

IDFSpokesman

MEMRIICT ITICYnetNRG

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Organization/Institution Languages

Hamas Arabic, English, French, Russian, Persian, Urdu,

Malay, Turkish

Hezbollah Arabic, English, French, Persian, Hebrew

Israeli Foreign Ministry Hebrew, English, Arabic, Persian

IDF Spokesman Hebrew, English

MEMRI Hebrew, English

ICT, The Interdisciplinary Center at

Herzliya

English

The Intelligence and Terrorism

Information Center

Hebrew, English, French, Russian, German,

Arabic

Ynet Hebrew, English

NRG Hebrew

Documents

The Internet as a battleground used by the terrorist ... · PDF fileThe Internet as a battleground used by the terrorist organizations: How Hezbollah and Hamas exploit the Internet