Asks Gaza congregation to pray for global terror leader, deputy
By Aaron Klein
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM â The Palestinian cleric from one of the most popular mosques in the Gaza Strip this weekend asked his congregation to pray for al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, explaining the global terror leaders share the Palestinian goals of destroying Israel and ending "American world domination," WND has learned.
The reports are the latest evidence of ideological links between Palestinian groups and al-Qaida, with Israeli security officials saying bin Laden's network infiltrated Gaza last month and is currently operating from the territory.
"May Allah guard and bless Sheikh Osama bin Laden and Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who are both leading the jihad against the Zionist entity and against American domination of the world. Pray for Sheikh bin Laden and Sheikh Zarqawi," said Dr. Jamil Mutaweh, a leader of the large Abu Dur Mosque in Khan Yunis, Palestinian sources in Gaza told WND.
Khan Yunis, a southern Gaza city, is one of the most populated Palestinian towns.
Mutaweh made the comments during his Friday sermon at the mosque, which was particularly crowded this past Friday, Palestinian sources say, because it was the second day of Eid al-Fitr, a three day Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
Sources close to the Palestinian Authority told WND the PA has been made aware of Mutaweh's comments and is deciding whether to investigate.
Mutaweh's sermon seems to stress an ideological link between al-Qaida and Palestinian groups.
Reuven Erlich, director of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at Israel's Center for Special Studies, previously told WND the link can be emphasized through Palestinian cleric Dr. Abdullah Azzam, who was al-Qaida's ideologue and, until Azzam's death, Osama bin Laden's spiritual mentor.
"We found Azzam's picture on Hamas posters from Gaza and a lot of Hamas' material," said Erlich. "Azzam's portrait in materials reveal that he is perceived by Hamas as one of the four 'outstanding figures' of the Islamic 'struggle' in Palestine and around the world."
Mutaweh's speech also comes as Israeli security officials tell WND al-Qaida is present in the Gaza Strip and is seeking to attack the Jewish state.
"Al-Qaida operatives took advantage of the opened Rafah border [with Egypt immediately following Israel's withdrawal from the area last month] and entered Gaza," said Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi Farkash, chief of intelligence for the Israeli Defense Forces.
Following Israel's troop withdrawal Sept. 12, Gaza's border with Egypt was wide open, with thousands of Palestinians â including known terrorissts â passing freely from one side to the other for a period of at least six days.
Egyptian officials attempted to close the border several times, but Hamas and other terror groups managed to reopen the crossing, once using a controlled explosion along the border fence and another time ramming a dump truck through the border wall.
Palestinian officials admitted to reporters terror groups were able to smuggle tons of weapons into Gaza, including explosives, ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades that had long been stockpiled in Sinai, but denied al-Qaida was present.
"These reports are baseless," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told WND. "Egypt did a good job in cracking down on cells in their country, and they wouldn't have allowed any al-Qaida people to get into Gaza."
An aide to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei told WND on condition of anonymity, "It would certainly be against our interests to say al-Qaida was in our territory."
Hamas chief Mahmoud al-Zohar went so far as to accuse Israel of sending fake al-Qaida agents into Gaza so it can claim the global jihad group was liaising with Palestinian organizations.
"All these talks about the presence of al-Qaida is Israeli talks and propaganda," said al-Zahar in an exclusive WND interview.
"We know that Israel tried through its agents to have contacts with marginal activists in the Palestinian resistance. The agents represented themselves as al-Qaida members and tried to tempt these people with money and weapons. This is part of the Israeli effort to represent things even though they are not that way in order to say that al-Qaida exists in the Gaza Strip," al-Zahar said.
But WND reported last week some members of al-Zarah's Hamas have become disillusioned with the terror group, renouncing their membership and instead trying to form their own al-Qaida network.
Israeli prison officials said nine jailed Hamas terrorists "with blood on their hands," including two militants trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan, tried to set up the al-Qaida cell last month. Officials said the cell planned to direct attacks on behalf of al-Qaida by sending messages to terrorists outside the Israeli prison.
Said a prison official, "The jailed terrorists renounced their membership in Hamas. They didn't think Hamas was carrying out enough attacks. ... They thought Hamas was too focused on trying to join upcoming Palestinian legislative elections. So they joined with al-Qaida." |
After March Israel must be prepared to use means other than diplomacy to halt Iran's nuclear weapons program, warned the head of the military intelligence Wednesday. Military Intelligence Chief Aharon Zeevi Farkash would not detail other options, but sources on the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which Farkash was addressing, said it was clear that Israel would have to consider taking military action against Iran. "In my years here, seeing the data I have seen, I feel it is clear that Iran has passed the point of no return," said committee chairman Yuval Steinitz (Likud). "It is accurate to say that unless Iran encounters a major interference, it will have a functioning nuclear arsenal within one or two years."