Remember the shooting at the El Al counter in L.A.? You know, the one where an Egyptian shot people because he was a little crazy. It wasn't terrorism shouted anti-Semites. Well, yes it was.

The investigation developed information that he openly supported the killings of civilians in order to advance the Palestinian cause," McLaughlin said.

He said Hadayet bought the weapons used in the attack just weeks before the shooting, closed his bank accounts and sent his family overseas. He walked into the terminal with a .45-caliber semiautomatic Glock pistol, a 9 mm handgun and a six-inch knife.

The two people killed were Yaakov "Jacob" Aminov, 46, and Victoria Hen, 25, who worked behind the counter. Several other people were injured.

Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said he believed all along the shooting was a terrorist attack and was satisfied the Department of Justice ruled it one.

"It's an attack on Americans because there's no way he could determine that only Jews travel on El Al," Hier said. "He was out to commit a terrorist attack to make a point and threaten Americans. ... (It) caused tremendous panic around the country. People didn't travel and they didn't go to the airport."

The finding also contradicts the notion that Hadayet acted for personal reasons or because he was despondent over financial problems, said Hier, leader of the Jewish human rights organization.