DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - ISRAEL/HOLY LAND: HAMAS & AL QUEDA, NATURAL ALLIES

Has al-Qaida found a hospitable host in Hamas?
BY BRIDGET JOHNSON, Columnist

"Thanks to the support of Hamas, al-Qaida is entering Gaza." The statement earlier this month from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas — who has recently seen the light about the true nature of Hamas and been reborn as something resembling a real leader — came as little surprise. Not only has an al-Qaida presence in the lawless Strip been reported for some time, but the conditions are riper than ever for "The Base" to find a cozy spot in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Extremism is the order of the day. Poverty seems inescapable as the ruling elite would rather support terrorism and the destruction of neighboring Israel than invest in infrastructure or ensure workers get paid on time. Or funds are spent on a plush bumblebee costume — Al-Aqsa TV's "Nahoul" — to teach Palestinian children that martyrdom is cool and murder is fun.

But if Abbas said the sky was blue, Hamas would snap back at their archenemy that it was azure. Thus they fired back at Abbas' charges, made in an interview on Italian television; Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Abbas "is trying to mislead international opinion to win support for his demand to deploy international forces in Gaza."

March 2006, Abbas was quoted in Al-Hayat, "We have indications about the presence of al Qaeda in Gaza and the West Bank. This is intelligence information. We have not yet reached the point of arrests." In response, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed: "There are, of course, attempts by terror elements, including international ones, to extend their reach in areas adjacent to us."

Naturally.

In fact, Egyptian officials said in mid-July that Khaled Mahmud Ahmed, the leader of al-Qaida in that country, had escaped to Gaza in April.

A revelation that Gaza is a terrorist breeding pit blows away Hamas' last comical gasp to convince its few remaining allies that it can be a force for regional leadership. The group quickly tried to distance itself from Ayman al-Zawahri's June 25 call for Muslims around the world to "provide them (Hamas) with money, do your best to get it there, break the siege imposed on them by crusaders and Arab leader traitors. Facilitate weapons smuggling from neighboring countries."

"We can support them by targeting the crusader and Zionist interest wherever we can," added al-Zawahri, who had previously condemned Hamas for taking part in elections and thus supposedly kowtowing to Israelis. "...We must today support the mujahideen of Palestine, including the mujahideen of Hamas, despite all the mistakes of their government."

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Pertinent Links:

1) Has al-Qaida found a hospitable host in Hamas?