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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Al Qaeda Cell Uncovered In Jerusalem |
| 2008-07-22 |
| For a long time intelligence sources have been keenly aware of Al Qaeda's efforts at establishing a presence in and around Israel, but they have been unsuccessful, until recently. Early in July 2008, the Shin Bet (Israel's equivalent of the FBI) arrested two Bedouin on suspicion of passing information about key locations in Israel that could be potential terrorist targets, among them, Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport. The two suspects, who were described in local reports as cousins, were accused of membership in a terrorist organization, aiding the enemy in wartime and delivering information to the enemy in order to harm national security. In addition, the suspects allegedly passed along information about places where terrorists could infiltrate Israel from the West Bank. This week, in a joint operation between the Israel Police and the Shin Bet, six Israeli Arabs were arrested after information was received about an attempt to organize a local Al Qaeda network. Two of the suspects, students at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, hold Israeli citizenship, and the other four are Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. Using their cell phone they filmed helicopters taking off and landing at the sports stadium on the university campus at Givat Ram in Jerusalem from their dormitory window, which overlooks the area. The stadium is frequently used as a helipad by government officials and visiting dignitaries. They posted queries on Al Qaeda linked web sites asking for advice on how to shoot down a helicopter with the idea of downing President George Bush's helicopter during his visit to Israel in January of this year. The helipad on the campus was used by Bush's entourage due its proximity to strategic destinations. Following the police raid in the early hours of Friday morning, July 18, 2008, an indictment was issued against the suspects at the Jerusalem District Court on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, possessing propaganda material supporting a terror organization, and attempting to form a local Al Qaeda cell in Jerusalem. Investigators found that some of the suspects had surfed Al-Qaeda web sites featuring radical Islamic content, and had also downloaded instructions from the internet on their computer on bomb making. There was no indication that the suspects' activities ever passed the planning stage and they do not face charges of active involvement in any attacks. The suspects confessed that they had held regular meetings at the Dome of The Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City and that they had established an Al Qaeda linked cell. After the arrests took place, no surprise was expressed by other students who spoke about an atmosphere of radicalism on the campus that encouraged such activities. One of the students who did not want his name published, spoke of radical groups holding political meetings all the time. He said that he knew the suspects and that they were very quiet, kept to themselves, and did not encourage other students to socialize with them. One Arab student said that the radicalism was even worse at the Mount Scopus campus where there is a large Arab student body. At the beginning of the year there was a violent confrontation between Jewish and Arab students over the IDF blockade of the Gaza Strip. This incident is apparently the first time that Israeli security forces have arrested any citizens for involvement with the Al Qaeda terror network. Shin Bet and the Israel Police have a network of intelligence sensors which relay all relevant information about potential terrorist activities and acting on the information received they made the arrests. While there are several hardline Muslim groups in the Gaza Strip that have claimed responsibility for bombing coffee shops and internet cafes because of their perceived Western influence, they do not belong to the global terror groups. There is no known Al-Qaeda presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, though Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have both expressed concern about the group trying to enter the Palestinian areas. Eitan Azani, deputy director of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, said "The arrests demonstrate the virtual process Al- Qaeda is using to build an infrastructure in the Middle East, including in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and now Israel. |
| Posted by:Fred |