AL QAEDA: KILL THE JEWS!

Al-Qaeda: "Hit Jews and Americans"  (Reuters)
Al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri called for attacks on Israeli and Western targets in an audio tape posted on the Internet on Monday.  "O Muslims. Today is your day. Hit the interest of the Jews and the Americans and all those who participated in the aggression against Muslims," Zawahiri said. "Monitor the targets, collect the money, prepare the hardware, plan accurately and then attack....No one can say today that we should fight the Jews in Palestine only."

ABBAS: AL QAEDA IN GAZA

Abbas Contradicts UN on Terrorism

ABE GREENWALD - (CONTENTIONS)

One day after the UN released a report intended to cast Palestinian terrorism as an “inevitable” and righteous response to Israeli aggression distinct from the morally and strategically unjustifiable terrorism orchestrated by al Qaeda, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hascharged that al Qaeda is in fact working with the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.

In yesterday’s UN report, John Dugard states:

[C]ommon sense . . . dictates that a distinction must be drawn between acts of mindless terror, such as acts committed by al-Qaida, and acts committed in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism, apartheid or military occupation.

Today, Mahmoud Abbas says:

Al-Qaeda is present in Gaza and I’m convinced that they [Hamas] are their allies. . .I can say without doubt that al-Qaeda is present in the Palestinian territories and that this presence, especially in Gaza, is facilitated by Hamas.

Israeli authorities have long accused Hamas of working with al Qaeda, but Abbas’ announcement marks the first time that a Palestinian statesman has agreed with the Israeli charges.

With Dugard’s report exposed as terrorist-coddling, anti-Israel fiction, there’s no telling how far he’ll go at the UN.

AL QAEDA ENTERS GAZA FROM EGYPT

'Al-Qaida entered Gaza during breach' (JPost)
Dozens of terrorists - among them Al-Qaida operatives - managed to infiltrate the Gaza Strip after Hamas breached the border with Egypt in January, OC Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin said Tuesday.

Speaking at the weekly meeting of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yadlin said the breach also "enabled Hamas to bring back those who had left for training in Syria and Iran, including snipers, explosives experts, rocket experts and engineers." Copious amounts of weaponry had also been smuggled in, he added.

GAZA'S NEW RESIDENTS: SAUDIS AND AL QAEDA

Gaza's New Residents: Saudis and al-Qaeda - Nir Boms
Egyptian troops recently resealed the border with Gaza. The border incident, initiated by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, allowed some otherwise unwelcome guests to enter Gaza. The Bethlehem-based Maan news agency quoted Hamas sources as estimating the number of Arab men who had entered Gaza as new residents at 2,000. According to Arab sources, some had recently fled from Iraq, where they had been carrying out attacks against U.S. troops. A Sunni Muslim website that carries statements of al-Qaeda reported last week on the arrival of at least four Saudi militants to Gaza through Egypt. "Hamas has turned Gaza into an international center for global jihad," said one PA official. Another PA security official said that dozens of al-Qaeda operatives have managed to enter Gaza in the past two weeks. (Weekly Standard)

AL QAEDA OFFERS HELP TO PALIS

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Offers Palestinians Military and Economic Aid - and Help in Manufacturing Rockets (MEMRI)
In a 30-minute video posted Feb. 14 on the Islamist website Al-Hesbah, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, commander of the al-Qaeda-founded Islamic State of Iraq, discusses "winning the war against the Jews."

AL QAEDA CALLS ON PALIS TO KILL BUSH

Al-Qaida to Palestinians: Kill Bush (JTA)
Al-Qaida called on Palestinians to kill President Bush when he visits Israel and the West Bank this week.

Adam Gadahn, an American-born convert to Islam who often has served as Osama bin Laden's spokesman to the West, issued a video statement Sunday in which he addressed Bush's impending Middle East visit.

"Here I issue an urgent call on our brothers, the jihad warriors in Muslim Palestine," Gadahn said.

"You must be ready and primed for the visit of the murderous crusader Bush to Muslim Palestine," he said. "Do not receive him with roses and applause, but with bombs and booby-traps."

Israel has said there are no specific intelligence warnings of plans to attack Bush when he visits the area Jan. 9-11.

BIN LADEN THREATENS ISRAEL

Bin Laden warns Iraqi Sunnis, threatens Israel (MSNBC)
CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden warned Iraq's Sunni Arabs against fighting al-Qaida and vowed to expand the terror group's holy war to Israel in a new audiotape Saturday, threatening "blood for blood, destruction for destruction."

Most of the 56-minute tape dealt with Iraq, apparently al-Qaida's latest attempt to keep supporters in Iraq unified at a time when the U.S. military claims to have al-Qaida's Iraq branch on the run.

The tape did not mention Pakistan or the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, though Pakistan's government has blamed al-Qaida and the Taliban for her death on Thursday. That suggested the tape was made before the assassination.

Bin Laden's comments offered an unusually direct attack on Israel, stepping up al-Qaida's attempts to use the Israeli-Arab conflict to rally supporters. Israel has warned of growing al-Qaida activity in Palestinian territory, though terror network is not believed to have taken a strong role there so far.

"We intend to liberate Palestine, the whole of Palestine from the (Jordan) river to the sea," he said, threatening "blood for blood, destruction for destruction."

"We will not recognize even one inch for Jews in the land of Palestine as other Muslim leaders have," bin Laden said.

VANESSA REDGRAVE BAILS 2 AL QAEDA TERRORISTS OUT OF JAIL

Anti-Semite Vanessa Redgrave has bailed 2 Al Qaeda terrorists out of jail.

FATAH POLICEMEN IN GAZA DEFECT TO AL QAEDA

Fatah Policemen in Gaza "Defect to Al-Qaeda" - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Scores of Fatah policemen who used to serve in the PA security forces in Gaza and who recently lost their jobs have now joined the al-Qaeda-affiliated Army of Islam, sources in the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry said Thursday. The Army of Islam is headed by Abu Muhammad al-Ansari, also known as Mumtaz Dughmush. A former PA Preventive Security Service officer, Ansari belongs to the Dughmush clan, whose members have kidnapped several foreign nationals, including BBC reporter Alan Johnston, and bombed Internet cafes, hair salons and restaurants. The Army of Islam participated in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006, along with Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees. After Hamas took over Gaza, the Army of Islam struck a deal permitting the group to retain its weapons on condition they only be used to attack Israel. Over the past few months, the Army of Islam has been involved in the smuggling of large amounts of weapons and explosives into Gaza from Sinai, according to PA security officials, who said members of the group had established close ties with al-Qaeda operatives in Egypt and other Arab and Islamic countries.

See also "The Army of the Nation" - Another Al-Qaeda Affiliate in the Gaza Strip - Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan Dahoah-Halevi (ICA/JCPA)

EGYPT CATCHES SUICIDE BOMBER HEADED TO ISRAEL; HAMAS THREATENS ATTACKS

Egypt Says It Caught Palestinian Suicide Bomber Headed for Israel (Reuters)
Three Palestinians caught entering Egypt through a tunnel from Gaza this month are members of an al-Qaeda-inspired group who planned to enter Israel to carry out suicide attacks, Egyptian police sources said on Tuesday. One of the men was wearing explosives around his waist and the group also had other explosives and hand grenades. The men said they were from the Army of Islam, which kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston in Gaza in March and took part in the abduction of an Israeli soldier last year. Police had advance warning of their plan and detained them on Oct. 16 as they were coming out of a tunnel on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border. A fourth man crawled back through the 950-meter tunnel. Egyptian authorities publicize their activities against smuggling and illegal crossings following repeated Israeli complaints that they are not doing enough to prevent arms and explosives reaching the Palestinians.

Hamas Military Commander: We'll Strike in the Heart of Israel - Ali Waked
Muhammad Deif, the commander of Hamas' military wing, has said that Hamas will strike in the heart of Israel in the near future, a senior Hamas member said Tuesday. Sheikh Ahmed Hamdan said he recently met with Deif, and heard from him that Hamas will soon replace its defensive fighting policy with an offensive one. "Deif promised me that the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades will hit the Zionist enemy hard. The organization has completed its preparations and is only waiting for orders," he said. Deif is responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings he planned. (Ynet News)

EGYPT LETS PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS INTO GAZA

Egypt Lets Stranded Palestinian Militants Return to Gaza - Nidal al-Mughrabi
In a deal between Hamas and Egypt, around 85 militants crossed into Gaza on Sunday through Rafah, a terminal on the Egyptian border, after having been stranded in Egypt since Hamas seized Gaza in June. The militants, who included senior Hamas figures, had refused to avail themselves of an alternative return route to Gaza that runs through neighboring Israel for fear of being arrested by the Israelis. (Reuters/Washington Post)

See also Report: Hamas Exchanges Al-Qaeda Fugitive for Stranded Fighters
Hamas transferred a fugitive al-Qaeda member to Egypt on Sunday in return for Egypt's opening the Rafah crossing to dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad members, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported on Monday. The unexpected move contradicted agreements Israel had with Egypt regarding the Rafah crossing. Israeli defense sources estimated that many of the group had undergone training in Iran and Syria. (Jerusalem Post)

U.S. PEACE EFFORTS LED TO AL-QAEDA IN GAZA

America's Latest Efforts Merely Entrenched Al-Qaeda in Gaza - Dore Gold (Wall Street Journal)

• The U.S. and other Western powers are pushing for a new Israeli-Palestinian breakthrough to help contain Iran and undercut the appeal of al-Qaeda and radical Islam. The underlying assumption is that radical Islam has something do to with Israel-related political grievances. But is this really the case?
• In August 2005, the U.S. and its Western allies thought that Israel's Gaza pullout would establish the foundations of a Palestinian state and thus reduce the flames of radical Islamic rage. Instead they got an al-Qaeda sanctuary on the shores of the Mediterranean.
• What the Gaza pullout showed was that mishandling the Israeli-Palestinian issue can exacerbate the threat of radical Islam, especially if it deepens the sense in radical Islamic circles that their military efforts have paid off. The gasoline fueling al-Qaeda has been its sense of victory, not political grievances. In the 1990s, the Clinton administration devoted more time to Arab-Israeli diplomacy than most of its predecessors, arranging numerous diplomatic agreements. But al-Qaeda only grew in strength. In other words, there was no correlation between U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to ameliorate the grievances voiced by radical Islamic groups and the appeal of al-Qaeda.
• Today, leading Western diplomats have been praising the Arab League Peace Initiative - based on the 2002 Saudi Plan - which calls on Israel to fully withdraw to the pre-1967 lines (i.e., leave the Golan Heights and entire West Bank) in exchange for "normal relations" with the Arab world. The Saudi Plan re-divides Jerusalem.
• Pushing Israel back to the pre-1967 lines will not satisfy al-Qaeda, nor will it bring peace. Right now, what the Palestinians need is help to build a stable civil society with governing institutions that work, not a return to the ceremonial diplomacy of the 1990s.

THE AL-QAEDA/HAMAS CONNECTION IN GAZA

Has Al-Qaeda Found a Hospitable Host in Hamas? - Bridget Johnson
Some reasons why Gaza is attractive to al-Qaeda, and vice versa: Who better to fund the Hamas government's unpaid workers than the deep pockets of al-Qaeda? Gaza is a centralized launching base against Israel, the doorway to the West, but also against the Arab states that have been trying to stymie al-Qaeda's quest for the caliphate - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. Gaza presents the opportunity to extend the interests of young Hamas militants beyond just wiping out Israel, while simultaneously assisting them in that endeavor. (Los Angeles Daily News)

SAUDIS DROP MID-EAST PEACE PLAN OVER FEARS OF AL-QAEDA

Saudi Arabia Backs Out of Arab Peace Initiative - Smadar Peri
Saudi Arabia has dropped its support for a land-for-peace deal between Israel and the Arab world over fears of al-Qaeda attacks, an Israeli official said Saturday. "We estimate the Saudis got cold feet over suspicions of Iran and fears of terror attacks sponsored by Iran and al-Qaeda," the official said. The official added that Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman raised the issue of Saudi Arabia with President Bush during a visit to Washington last week.

When Bush announced plans to hold a conference in his speech about the Middle East last week, Saudi Arabia failed to announce whether it would attend the regional meeting. The official added that Saudi Arabia feared that isolating Hamas would push it into Iran's arms and exacerbate Tehran's financial support to radical Palestinian groups. Saudi Arabia's stance set alarms ringing in Amman and prompted the Jordanian monarch to seek an emergency meeting with President Bush. (Ynet News)

FRENCH: HAMAS HAS CONTACTS WITH AL QAEDA

Hamas has contacts with al Qaeda - French FM (YNet)
Palestinian militant group Hamas has contacts with al Qaeda, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday, adding that this was not the result of Western pressure to isolate the movement.

"I think Hamas did not wait for this extreme situation -- the current terrible situation in Gaza -- to have contacts with al Qaeda. And it would perhaps be too simple to think that we, the international community, are responsible," Kouchner said.

EGYPT AL QAEDA HEAD FLEES TO GAZA

Egypt's Al-Qaeda Chief Flees to Gaza
An Egyptian security official says arrested al-Qaeda members have revealed during interrogation that Khaled Mahmud Ahmed, the head of the group, escaped to Gaza when Egyptian authorities began arresting members of the group in April. (AFP/ABC News-Australia)

YEMENI PRESIDENT: AL-QAEDA IS ZIONIST CONSPIRACY

Yemeni President 'Ali Saleh: Al-Qaeda – Zionist Agents (MEMRI)
Yemen President 'Ali 'Abdallah Saleh has called Al-Qaeda "agents of Zionism and colonialism" who were recruited by the Zionists in order to fight the U.S.S.R. in Afghanistan, and then later returned to attack their own countries.

In statements delivered during a visit to summer youth camps on July 11, 2007, he said that Al-Qaeda "understands nothing about Islam" and described the perpetrators of the July 2 attacks against tourists in Ma'rib as "wrongheaded ignorant killers."

HAMAS GIVES AL-QAEDA FOOTHOLD IN GAZA

Abbas: Hamas Is Giving Al-Qaeda a Foothold in Gaza (Reuters)
"Through Hamas, al-Qaeda is entering the Gaza Strip," Mahmoud Abbas told Italian state television RAI on Tuesday. "It is Hamas that is protecting al-Qaeda, and through its bloody behavior Hamas has become very close to al-Qaeda," he said.

See also The Growing al-Qaeda Presence in the Hamas-Controlled Gaza Strip - Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan D. Halevi (JCPA)

MORE ON HAMAS' RELEASE OF BBC REPORTER

Johnston Deal Lets Army of Islam Keep Weapons - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Members of the powerful Dughmush clan in Gaza claimed Thursday that in line with the deal struck to gain the release of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, the clan's Army of Islam would be recognized as a legitimate Palestinian faction in Gaza.

They also said the accord allowed the clan's private militia to keep its weapons.

A clan member said the five-point agreement with Hamas recognized the Army of Islam as "the weapon of mujahideen [holy warriors] against Jews, Crusaders and apostates."

He said the deal also banned Hamas and the Army of Islam from attacking each other and called for solving future disputes peacefully.

See also Johnston's Release and the Hamas/Al-Qaeda Connection - Jonathan D. Halevi (JCPA-Hebrew)

The Hamas government is presenting its success in bringing about the release of Alan Johnston as proof of the effectiveness of its government in Gaza and of its pragmatic outlook, in an attempt to receive British and international legitimacy for the government it established through a military coup.

A look at the details of the agreement with the Army of Islam shows that the Hamas government's recognition of an al-Qaeda affiliate as a legitimate faction in Gaza enables it to act freely and develop its terrorist infrastructure.

If the version reported in Al-Quds al-Arabi is correct, Hamas has even provided funds and ammunition to the al-Qaeda affiliate, with whom it has cooperated in terror operations in recent years.

UPDATED: TERROR BOMBINGS FOILED IN LONDON; UK MUSLIMS BLAME JOOOOOZZZZ

Hunt for Al Qaeda terror gang behind 'massive' London bomb attack (Evening Standard UK)
An international manhunt was launched tonight to find the gang - believed to be linked to al Qaeda - that came within moments of blowing up hundreds of revellers in a London nightclub.

As the capital remained on high alert, fresh details emerged of the 'massive' car bomb - primed with petrol, gas canisters and nails - discovered by police in the heart of the West End. It was reported tonight that the bomb was to have been triggered by a mobile phone.

Park Lane, on Hyde Park's eastern edge, is closed tonight from Marble Arch to Hyde Park corner, with a 200-metre cordon around a suspicious vehicle in an underground car park.

Terrorists came within moments of causing carnage in London's West End with a Baghdad-style car bomb which had a radius of 200 yards.

Only a stroke of good luck and the heroism of bomb disposal men, who disabled the device by hand as it gave off fumes, prevented an atrocity.

Sky News reports that the police believe the bomb was set to be detonated by mobile phone trigger and that officers risked their lives by removing the trigger.

A Mercedes left near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket was packed with 60 litres of petrol in containers, propane gas canisters and hundreds of nails. It also had a full tank of petrol.

More than 1,000 people were inside for a 'Sugar 'n' Spice night' which the club calls the 'finest ladies' night in London'. There were thousands more in the surrounding streets and neighbouring clubs.

At the UK’s Muslim Public Affairs Committee web site, a commenter thinks this may be a “marketing stunt.” By MEMRI. Or some other “Israeli front group.” (LGF)

SEE ALSO: Second car bomb found in London's Park Lane (Daily Mail UK)
A second car bomb has been defused in the heart of London sparking fears that others could be primed and parked around the capital.

The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said it was similar to the first car bomb found outside Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket.

It was also a Mercedes and contained a "considerable amount" of explosive material and nails, he said. It is being inspected by Metropolitan Police explosives officers tonight having been recovered from an underground car park off Park Lane in the centre of the capital.