| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Al-Qaeda poised to infiltrate Gaza |
| 2005-09-22 |
| Israelâs domestic security chief warned yesterday that Al Qaeda is poised to infiltrate the Gaza Strip and the Jewish state and that Palestinian police are incapable of controlling armed militants. Also yesterday, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Israel âwonât allow Hamasâ to participate in Palestinian parliament elections in January. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had earlier threatened to withhold Israeli cooperation if the group takes part. Yuval Diskin, in his first on-the-record briefing since taking over the Shin Bet security service in May, termed the Palestinian Authorityâs ability to enforce law and order in Gaza to be ânegligible at best.â He said that although Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas opposes terror, his ruling Fatah party is crumbling and, if it does not strengthen, will not be able to control Gaza. Diskin was commenting on the chaotic situation on the Gaza-Egypt border in the days after Israelâs exit from Gaza last week, when thousands crossed unchecked, bringing large quantities of weapons into the coastal strip. He said he is concerned that groups linked to Al Qaeda would find their way into Israel or the Gaza Strip over the newly porous border. In Egyptâs Sinai desert, âthere is a strong infrastructure of world terror linked to Al Qaida â stronger than the Egyptians themselves were aware of,â Diskin said. âThe Egyptians are having a hard time getting on top of it.â Abbas visited the Egypt-Gaza border yesterday and said it would be opened on a trial basis for two days, starting Friday, for students and medical cases. He also called on radicals to stop displaying weapons on the streets, his strongest statement on the subject. Diskin said he was afraid weapons smuggled into Gaza would eventually find their way into the West Bank and that violent groups would shift their focus there. Also, Hamas official Said Siam said radical groups have promised to end all military parades after Saturday. Since Israelâs pullout, completed last week, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have staged large rallies featuring gunmen firing in the air. Siam said the commitment, made in a meeting with Abbas in Gaza City, did not mean the radicals would give up their weapons. Celebrations at the evacuated West Bank settlements continued. Dozens of gunmen from the Al Aqsa Martyrsâ Brigades fired in the air. âThis is our victory ... the victory of your weapons,â Zakariye Zubeydi, a leader of the gunmen, told several hundred supporters. âWe will continue to expel them (Israelis) from every centimeter of Palestine.â |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |