"Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said, "We completely condemn this serious operation... We were completely shocked..." Many, though, considered those reactions as hypocrisy, since several Arab and Muslim states encourage anti-Americanism and many newspapers in the Arab world—for example the Islamist opposition press in Egypt—openly celebrated the September 11 attacks.Moreover, states like Iran and Syria were known for long-year funding of terrorist networks such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.