AL QAEDA STORMS GAZA BEACH?

Al Qaeda Storms Beach in Gaza? (NYSun)

"Dozens of masked gunmen claiming to be members of al-Qaida stormed an empty beach resort and blew up a reception hall on Tuesday, saying they were sending a message to a close ally of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Officials said there were no injuries and they were investigating the Qaida claim. Security officials have discounted such claims in the past," the AP reports.

Israeli officials have long warned that al-Qaida was trying to infiltrate Gaza following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the coastal strip in 2005.

Abbas also has claimed the group has established "sleeper" cells in Gaza, and al-Qaida has issued statements claiming responsibility for several violent attacks on Palestinian officials.

We warned that Al Qaeda was likely to try to take advantage of the anarchy in Gaza following Israel's withdrawal, and the lack of a democratic aparatus, to set up a base there, in a July 13, 2006, piece in the Sun. We wrote:

Gaza provides an ideal base on the Mediterranean. One of the lessons of the September 11, 2001, attacks was that a terrorist sitting in a cave in Afghanistan can wreak havoc on our cities thousands of miles away. Terrorists with a base on the Mediterranean are an even greater threat.

The most important question for Israel's politicians to consider is what would be Mr. Sharon's next move? One option is for Israel to retake Gaza and fully destroy Hamas and the other terrorist groups there ...

But to really stop Hamas, Hezbollah, and other similar Islamist terrorist groups, greater military action is needed. Syria hosts Hamas's leader and provides support for the group. The Baathist regime in Damascus also provides military and political support for Hezbollah. Iran's theocrats also provide the Islamic terrorist groups with aid and other support, links America recognizes.

Now that Al Qaeda is in Gaza, with a base on the Mediterranean, it's not just Israel that is at risk from what's going on in Gaza. How long before the world asks Israel to go back in to Gaza and to secure the area?