Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly said there are signs of an al-Qaeda presence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. "We have indications about a presence of al-Qaeda in Gaza and the (West) Bank. This is intelligence information. We have not yet reached the point of arrests," Abbas said. "The last security report I received was three days ago," he told the London-based al-Hayat newspaper."This is the first time that I've spoken about this subject. This is a very serious matter."
Israeli officials said they were worried that foreign militants and al-Qaeda agents entered Gaza from Egypt during a brief period of chaos on the border following the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza last year. The Palestinian Authority said that was untrue.