ANKARA Ñ Western diplomatic sources said Al Qaida insurgents have infiltrated the West Bank and Gaza Strip in an effort to determine whether
the movement should make the Palestinian areas its new home. The
sources said Al Qaida appears to prefer the Gaza Strip over more distant
locations such as Somalia.
Israeli military sources said Al Qaida agents have been steadily
flowing into PA areas, Middle East Newsline reported. The sources said they have formed close links
with senior PA officials, including Mohammed Dahlan, the head of the
Preventive Security Apparatus in the Gaza Strip.
Saudi fugitive Osama Bin Laden is said to be considering
the Palestinian Authority as the new base for his Al Qaida movement, a senior official said.
"The organization [Al Qaida] has not yet been completely defeated," the official told the Ankara-based Turkish
Daily News on Wednesday. "It will continue to cause more headaches for the
international community."
The official, regarded as an expert on Afghanistan, said the Palestinian
Authority could be the next address of Al Qaida. The official said the
movement would then join the Palestinian war against Israel.
Such a war, the diplomatic sources said, would escalate as Al Qaida
insurgents introduce nonconventional weapons. The sources said Al Qaida
agents might have already transferred weapons of mass destruction technology
to such Islamic insurgency groups as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
U.S. officials said the Al Qaida infrastructure in Afghanistan has been
shattered and many insurgents are regrouping in Iran and Pakistan. But the
officials said some leaders of the group are believed to have escaped South
Asia by sea.