Posted on 12/08/2002 8:59:38 AM PST by chance33_98
Israeli Intelligence Tried to Create Fake Al-Qaeda Cell: Palestinians
GAZA CITY, December 8 (IslamOnline & New Agencies) - Palestinian security forces accused Israeli intelligence agents Saturday, December 7, of trying to set up a mock Al-Qaeda cell in the Gaza Strip following the Jewish state’s accusations Osama bin Laden’s network was active in the fenced-in coastal area.
The Gaza Strip’s head of preventive security, Colonel Rashid Abu Shbak, told journalists that Israeli agents, posing as operatives of Bin Laden’s network, recruited Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“Over the past nine months, we’ve been investigating eight cases in which Israeli intelligence posing as Al-Qaeda operatives recruited Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," said Abu Shbak.
He said that three Palestinians had been detained, while another 11 were let go “because they came and informed us of this Israeli plot.”
He poured cold water on the theory that Al-Qaeda was operating in the occupied territories.
“Al-Qaeda doesn’t recruit so easily and openly,” Abu Shbak said.
The security chief said his services had traced back to Israel at least eight cell phone calls and e-mails in which Palestinians were asked to join Al-Qaeda.
Colonel Abu Shbak said the calls to the Gaza Strip purportedly came from Germany and Lebanon. One e-mail was even signed Bin Laden, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
“We investigated the origin of those calls, which used roaming, and messages and found out they all came from Israel,” he told journalists.
“The Shin Beth - Israeli internal intelligence - has the means to do whatever it wants.”
He said the Palestinians, who hailed from resistance groups, were then paired unbeknownst to them with Israeli collaborators in Gaza.
He said they received money and weapons “although most of these weapons did not even work”.
The money was provided by “Palestinian collaborators with Israel” directly to the new recruits or “was transferred from bank accounts in Jerusalem or Israel,” Shbak said.
“We are sure that Israel is behind this and that there are absolutely no groups such as Al-Qaeda operating here,” the security chief said, adding however “we can’t say there will never be Al-Qaeda here, but at least not for now.”
Abu Shbak’s revelations came two days after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon charged Al-Qaeda militants were operating in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon, raising fears of an intensification of Israeli military operations.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat called Sharon’s claim of having any Al-Qaeda members in Gaza as “a big, big, big, big lie to cover (Sharon’s) attacks and his crimes against our people everywhere,” BBC’s online news service reported.
Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman claimed that the Palestinian accusations were “ridiculous” and “some kind of propaganda campaign,” adding that “the Palestinian territories have become a breeding ground for terrorism.”
“There is no need for Israel to make up something like this because Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah are all the same as Al-Qaeda,” spokesman Gilad Millo claimed.
“If... Sharon has made these allegations, he must be basing it on some evidence,” he also said.
This allegation by Sharon was considered a surprise because the Gaza Strip is virtually sealed off by Israeli troops.
International cooperation minister Nabil Shaath, who also attended the press conference, accused Sharon of trying to piggyback on the U.S.-led ‘war against terrorism’ to justify “more attacks on the Palestinian people and violence in the Gaza Strip”.
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I snipped the article as they went off on a tangent not entirely related.
OTOH, I don't believe Israel did this. If "BiBi" had been in charge, I would have believed it, but Sharon seems too shrewdly intelligent to pull such a sophomoric stunt.
One must be pretty stupid to do that. Or have an agenda.
Post "Qibya" into a search engine sometime.
I figure our govt. uses it on us, why not use it for something really useful...
Yup. I like it.
The Mideast may as well be another planet in a far off galaxy.
So many puns, so little time.
--Boris
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