Palestinian legislator admits helping attackers

By Greg Myre
September 5, 2005
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/world/africa/04iht-mideast.html
JERUSALEM — A prominent member of the Palestinian Parliament, Husam Khader, pleaded guilty Sunday in an Israeli military court to charges of assisting an armed Palestinian faction that has carried out many attacks against Israel, the military said.
Before his arrest two years ago, Khader was best known as a leading critic of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader who died last November.
Khader frequently accused the Palestinian Authority of corruption, and often referred to the Palestinian leadership as a mafia. His comments were often laced with sarcasm, and he once introduced a bill that said Arafat should be declared the God of Palestine. But Israel said that Khader, who is in his mid-40s and is from the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus, also helped finance attacks by Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades.
The group is responsible for many shootings and bombings in the past several years, and is linked to the Fatah movement. Arafat led Fatah, while Khader was considered a rising figure in Fatah despite his differences with Arafat and other Fatah leaders.
Khader pleaded guilty to transferring money to Al Aksa so it could buy weapons, a statement by the military said. The cell that received the money attempted a suicide bombing in the West Bank in January 2003, but the security forces thwarted the attack, the military added.
Sentencing is set for next month.
Before his arrest, Khader said he supported attacks against Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Many Palestinians support such attacks, while Israel considers them terrorism.
Israeli leaders have on numerous occasions accused Palestinian political leaders of involvement in the violence. However, the arrest and prosecution of such figures has been relatively rare.
The most prominent case in recent years involved a close associate of Khader's, Marwan Barghouti, the West Bank leader of Fatah and a fellow member of Parliament. Barghouti was seen as a key figure in the Palestinian uprising against Israel, and remains popular among young Palestinian militants.