Al Maqdisi also warned women in Gaza Strip universities. He said his
group has collected a list of girls deemed "sluts and corrupting others at
the universities."
The statement said these girls would be "punished" unless their families
did so first. The group did not elaborate.
[In Gaza City, a Hamas commander was killed and two others were injured
in clashes with the Fatah-aligned Preventive Security Apparatus on Tuesday, Middle East Newsline reported.
The Hamas operative was identified as Allah Haddad, the Gaza City commander
of the Hamas-sponsored Executive Force, an agency in the Palestinian
Authority Interior Ministry.
On Wednesday, the home of a senior commander of
the Fatah-aligned National Security Force came under fire.]
The statement marked the first claim of responsibility for what PA
security officials acknowledged was an Al Qaida-aligned campaign against
Western influences in the Gaza Strip. Over the last month, Internet cafes
and stores that sold Western music — several of them believed owned by
senior PA officials — have been bombed or their Palestinian owners
abducted.
"We will reach all those who were involved with the individuals who were
punished, because we have proof and their confessions," Al Maqdisi said.
"Their rank will not protect them from punishment."
The Islamic group said Internet cafes would be forced to close after 10
p.m. The statement described them as houses of prostitution.
PA officials said warnings by so-called Al Qaida-aligned groups have
been issued over the last year. They said they could not discount that the
attacks stemmed from organized crime under a jihad cover.