Special to WorldTribune.com

JERUSALEM — Israel has determined that Al Qaida-aligned elements established an operational presence in the West Bank.

Officials said the Israeli intelligence community has identified Al Qaida-aligned operatives in several parts of the West Bank believed financed from abroad.

The officials said several cells have been established, including at least one that planned a mass-casualty attack in Israel.

“At this point, we think these are individual efforts, but this could change rapidly,” an official said.

On Nov. 26, the Israel Army and security forces killed three suspected Al Qaida-aligned operatives in the southern West Bank. The Israel Security Agency said those killed in the Hebron-region town of Yatta were part of a mass-casualty plot against Israeli soldiers and civilians.

ISA said the cell assembled a car bomb and planned an imminent attack. The agency said the three Palestinians were killed in a shootout near their hideout in Yatta in the first clash with an Al Qaida-aligned cell in the West Bank.

“This was the first substantial evidence of the Salafist operational
presence,” the official, referring to Al Qaida doctrine, said.

Officials said other members of the alleged cell were captured in late
November. They said the cell was influenced by Al Qaida doctrine but did not
say whether they were financed from abroad.

“The cell might have also planned an attack on the Palestinian
Authority,” the official said.

Officials said Al Qaida-aligned operatives were also believed to be
active in such West Bank cities as Nablus and Tulkarm. They said some of the
operatives were recruited through jihadist websites.

Support for the Al Qaida operatives was demonstrated during the funeral
for the three Palestinians on Nov. 27. Thousands of Palestinians attended
the funerals, a response said to have garnered PA concern.

In November, the PA was said to have arrested 22 jihadists in Hebron,
Jenin and Nablus. Officials said some of the fugitives had been members of
Hamas and moved to embrace Al Qaida.

  Hebron, Israel IDs Al Qaida cells in West Bank, jihadist websites, kills three suspected operatives, Salafists, Yatta