 |
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Arafat
called the claim “a big, big, big, big lie to cover (Sharon’s)
attacks and his crimes against our people everywhere”
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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”.
Meanwhile,
the European Union (E.U.) and Arab states joined the United Nations in
strongly condemning the three-hour incursion by some 40 Israeli tanks
and armored vehicles, backed by helicopters, into the densely
populated Al-Bureij camp Friday morning, December 6.
Another
19 Palestinians were wounded, five seriously, in the action, which
came as Muslims celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end
of the Ramadan holy month of fasting.
The
Danish-held E.U. presidency “strongly condemns military or other
violent actions directed indiscriminately against a civilian
neighborhood, whether Palestinian or Israeli,” it said in a
statement in Copenhagen.
“While
recognizing Israel’s legitimate right to fight terrorism, the E.U.
has consistently rejected Israeli methods of extra-judicial killings
and house demolitions and Israel’s excessive use of force,” it
said.
U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was “gravely disturbed by the
Israeli military attack,” while the U.N. commissioner for human
rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, also slammed the loss of life.
The
Al-Bureij camp massacre, also prompted the U.S. State Department to
urge Israel to consider the consequences of its military actions in
the occupied territories.
Jordan
condemned what it called Israel’s “shameful aggression” in Gaza,
while Gulf newspapers also voiced outrage at the deaths and
sarcastically charged they were a “gift to the Palestinians for the
Muslim festival.”
