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				Israel Suicide Attacks Feared

By Alan Philps in Jerusalem, Feb. 18, 2000, London Telegraph

FEARS that suicide bombers plan to return to the streets of Israel are growing now that the peace process is deadlocked.

As disillusion becomes widespread among the Palestinians, Israeli police have increased security on the streets, checking people's documents in the heart of Jerusalem.

Washington has warned Americans travelling to Israel to be on the lookout for suspicious objects. Israeli fears were aroused by a meeting on Monday between the exiled leadership of Hamas, the Palestinian extremist group responsible for a wave of suicide bombings after 1993, and Farouk al-Shara, the Syrian Foreign Minister. The exiled Hamas leadership #was expelled from Jordan last year#, dealing a severe blow to its operational capability. It now appears to be looking for a home in Damascus at a time when Syria is encouraging Shi'ite Muslim Hizbollah guerrillas to increase their attacks on Israeli troops in Lebanon.

Dr Ely Karmon, of the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya said: "This is a clear sign from Syria to Israel. They are trying to raise the stakes. The message is that they have not only the Hizbollah card to play, but also the Hamas card. South Lebanon could be used as a training ground for Hamas."

Counter-terrorism experts believe that Hamas, the Islamic Salvation Movement, has been held back from staging bombings inside Israel in case it provokes a civil war with forces loyal to the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, who is committed to peace.

While the negotiations with Israel were moving ahead, Palestinian opinion favoured the peace process in the hope of getting as much land as possible from Israel. But the talks are stalled, and opinion seems to be turning against Israel once again.