Al-Qaeda militants in Gaza: Israeli official
AFP
Date: 10-30-05
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Agents of the Al-Qaeda network have infiltrated the Gaza Strip from Egypt's Sinai peninsula, a senior Israeli military official warned.
Brigadier General Danny Arditi, head of Israel's anti-terror unit, told army radio that in the days following the Israeli troop withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which ended on September 12, Al-Qaeda militants had slipped into the territory through the southern border with Egypt.
"The breaching of border along the Philadelphi corridor has allowed activists from Al-Qaeda and world jihad agents into the Gaza Strip," Arditi said Sunday.
Hundreds of jubilant Palestinians stormed Gaza's southern border with Egypt in the immediate aftermath of the pullout, leaving Palestinian and Egyptian officials helpless to stop them.
Three weeks ago, the head of Israeli military intelligence said he believed Al-Qaeda had established a base in Sinai.
General Aharon Zeevi told cabinet ministers that the Egyptian authorities were aware of the base, but were wary of launching a full-frontal assault for fear of exacerbating tensions.
Earlier this month, the anti-terror unit advised Israelis to steer clear of the Sinai, a favourite holiday destination, over intelligence reports that Islamic extremists were planning to kidnap tourists on beaches.
In October 2004, a luxury hotel in the Sinai resort of Taba and two nearby camp sites were hit by triple bomb attacks that killed 34 people and wounded another 100. Many of the victims were Israelis.
Around 70 people were also killed in multiple suicide car bombings which rocked the Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh last July, in Egypt's worst ever such attack.
Both attacks were believed to be the work of Islamist extremists.
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