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Posted on 12/11/2001 7:07:52 AM PST by vrwc54

When Iz a Din al-Kassam, the military wing of Hamas, opened their official Web site three months ago (www.qassamiyoon.com), the site managers took care to ask surfers to comply with security regulations. "Don't ever write your real name," warns the home page. It also clarifies that "all e-mails received will immediately be taken off the server."

Iz a Din al-Kassam's Web site is only one of several Palestinian Web sites established in the last months. Similar, albeit less sophisticated, sites have also been opened by the Islamic Jihad(www.jihadislami. com) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (www.pflppal.org/main.html). The sites publish the pictures and history of terrorists killed in suicide missions, and are one of the quickest sources of information regarding the organizations' activities. They also host chats among the organizations' activists.

Iz a Din al-Kassam's discussion forum - the "Kassam meeting place" - was closed recently, probably by the Palestinian Authority, although the site managers say it will reopen soon through a different server. A peek into the site before its closure revealed some interesting debates between Hamas activists over the latest terror-related issues.

Just a few days before the site's closure, the site manager, who calls himself Raid Ashour, discussed the use of chemical weapons in Hamas terrorist attacks. Why, asked one surfer, doesn't Hamas use "poison gas" in attacks against Israel?

Ashour answered that the problem is not technical: Hamas could easily develop chemical weapons if it wanted to. The problem with using this type of weapon, he said, is Israel's potential response. "We cannot ignore the fact that Israel possesses nuclear weapons," said Ashour.

Ashour, according to data provided by the Web site, is a 26-year-old resident of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip who studied electrical engineering in Turkey. He is also one of the central hosts of the site's "suicide missions" chat room.

Just after its establishment, the Web site hosted a discussion between surfers and Sheikh Salah Mustafa Shahada, one of Hamas's founders, who is currently considered the head of Hamas's military wing.

Notes of the conversation with Shahada can be found on the site. Shahada turned to surfers and asked for contributions to Hamas. One Kalashnikov bullet, he said, costs the organization some $3, and an M-16 bullet costs half that amount. "We don't have anti-aircraft or anti-tank missiles," said Shahada, "because costs are extremely high." He added that his organizations continues to follow attempts made by the Palestinian Authority to manufacture weapons.

Shahada acknowledged that Hamas has had difficulties launching terror attacks from the Gaza Strip. "Conditions in Gaza make it difficult," he said. "There are no sidetracks, and it's much harder to infiltrate into Israel from Gaza than it is from the West Bank."

Until the chat room reopens, as promised by the management, surfers stay in touch through the Hamas's news Web site (www.palestine-info.net). Since the beginning of the intifada last year, this site has become an important source of information for organizations opposing the Palestinian Authority.

One surfer on the site brought up the possibility of cooperative actions between Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. The surfer, who called himself "Juicy," brought up that the Islamic Jihad's suicide bombers have been less effective than those of Hamas. "Why don't both organizations get together, despite their ideological differences, in order to exchange technical information?" he suggested.

Another visitor answered: "The exchange of technical information is no small task and requires great efforts and trust between all sides involved. The Islamic Jihad is closely connected to Iran and Hezbollah, and I wonder that they have not helped advance the organization's technical capability."

A third surfer interrupted the argument and claimed the Islamic Jihad has also killed many Israelis, but "the Israeli media has done all it can to hide this fact."

Many surfers have been using the sites to transfer information about U.S. attacks in Afghanistan.

Another hot issue has been the recent religious rulings from Egypt and Saudi Arabia denouncing terror attacks in Israel. One surfer countered the rulings and posted a list of 13 religious figures who have approved the terrorism.

The so-called "collaboration" between senior Palestinian Authority officials and Israel has also been dealt with in length.

One chat that took place last month suggested that top PA official Jibril Rajoub be assassinated. "Rajoub is an Israeli, invented by the Mossad, whose goal is to arrest, torture and kill shahids (Muslim martyrs)," said one surfer. "Will the murder of this profane figure really harm national unity?"

Similar messages have been transferred regarding Mohammed Dahlan, Hassan Asfour and Yasser Abed Rabbo, also senior PA officials. "Who will engrave their name on the pages of history by killing one of these?" proclaimed another anonymous visitor.

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