Israelis arrest 23, say terrror cell headed by Bin Laden aide

TEL AVIV -- Israel has arrested 23 suspects of an alleged terror cell headed by an aide to Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden.

Israeli security sources said on late Monday that the cell was composed of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians and aimed to fire missiles at Israeli targets and kidnap Israeli soldiers. Arrests were made in the West Bank, Gaza and inside Israel, the sources said.

The Bin Laden aide was identified as Nabil Okal. Security sources said Okal fought in Afghanistan and joined the Qaida group of Bin Laden.

Last month, Israeli and Palestinian Authority sources reported the arrest of two suspected Bin Laden agents. They said Israel and the PA were arguing over custody of the suspects.

Okal was helped by Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin in efforts to recruit Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and provide funding. The security sources said Yassin's help began in July 1998.

The cell planned to detonate bombs and send suicide attackers to launch massive attacks inside Israel, the sources said. These included attacks on an Israeli military patrol near the Gaza Jewish settlement of Netsarim and launching missiles against other Jewish settlements.

For these attacks, the Bin Laden aide recruited Israeli Arabs and other agents to gather intelligence and obtain weapons and material. Okal was also ordered to train the recruits for military training.

The security sources said Bin Laden's goal was to establish a terrorist network in Gaza and the West Bank that would include Israeli Arabs. They said Okal was in contact with the Qaida.

The cell began to unravel with arrests in April in Nablus and then in Taibeh. Security sources said the information obtained during interrogations of those suspects led to further arrests.

Last week, PA security chief Col. Jibreel Rajoub acknowledged that Islamic agents from abroad were trying to organize terrorist attacks. But he denied that Bin Laden was involved.