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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel to raise issue of al-Qaeda in Gaza with PA |
| 2005-10-10 |
| The presence of an al-Qaeda cell which infiltrated the Gaza Strip following Israel's August withdrawal from the territory is likely to feature high on the agenda of Tuesday's scheduled Israeli-Palestinian summit, according to an Arab newspaper. The London-based Asharq al-Awsat said Israeli premier Ariel Sharon is likely to ask Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas what steps are being taken to destroy the cell. Several messages have appeared in Islamic Internet forums claiming that members of the al-Qaeda cell in Gaza handed out pamphlets at two mosques during last Friday's prayer time, while some of the newly constituted cell's statements have been distributed in the area around the Khan Yunis refugee camp. Besides the threat posed by the al-Qaeda cell, Israel is also concerned that militants from the radical Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah have also taken advantage of the lax security conditions that followed the departure of Israeli troops to infiltrate the Strip. Israeli intelligence officials have evidence that a high-ranking Hezbollah member, Qis Abid, is in the Egyptian town of Arisha close to the border with Gaza to plot fresh attacks against Israeli targets, together with representatives of the al-Aqsa Brigades, an armed Palestinian group linked to Abbas' Fatah faction. According to Asharq al-Awsat, Israel will launch a huge military operation in Gaza to root out the militants from the Strip unless it receives assurances from Abbas that the PA will handle the matter. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 The London-based Asharq al-Awsat said Israeli premier Ariel Sharon is likely to ask Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas what steps are being taken to destroy the cell. If it's anything like his approach to Hamas, the answer is probably "not much". |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-10-10 11:23 |