Network aligned with Al Qaida declares holy war on Hamas, Jimmy Carter, Tony Blair
GAZA CITY — A group that proclaims its spiritual ties to Al Qaida has launched an
offensive against the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.
The group, Jaljalat, was believed to have been responsible for a series
of attacks against the Hamas regime. The attacks, which took place in late
August, including bombings of police stations and other Hamas security
facilities.
"We don't belong to Al Qaida organizationally, but we follow their
ideology," Jaljalat commander Mohammed Taleb said. "We pray to Allah that we
will become part of them. They are our brothers and it's our duty to support
them."
Jaljalat, with an estimated 750 members, has been deemed the largest Al
Qaida group in the Gaza Strip. The group, with scores of former Hamas
fighters, was believed to be the most dangerous to the Islamic regime.
In a statement on Sept. 6, Taleb also said Jaljalat tried to assassinate
at least two Western dignitaries. The dignitaries were identified as former
U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Quartet coordinator Tony Blair, who toured
the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2009.
"The hands of Carter and Blair are stained with Muslim blood," Taleb
said. "It was our duty to kill the two."
In the statement, Taleb, a former commander in Hamas's military wing
wanted by the regime since 2007, said Jaljalat was preparing to launch
additional attacks on Hamas. Taleb called for an Islamic emirate in the Gaza
Strip.
Jaljalat, which means thunder in Arabic, was said to have been linked to
Jund Ansar Allah, decimated by a Hamas assault on a Rafah mosque
in August. The assault led to the death of Jund leader Abdul Latif Mussa and
more than 20 other members.
Taleb said Hamas has made Jaljalat the top priority of the Islamic
regime. In the e-mail to the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat, Taleb said Hamas
has raided Jaljalat strongholds in the Gaza Strip.
"They [Hamas] confiscated much of our weapons and ammunition," Taleb
said. "Hamas also arrested many of our warriors upon their return from jihad
missions."
