By Stan Goodenough
Oct 09, 2005
The desire and ability to kill Jews and swallow up Israel is proliferating rapidly in the recently surrendered Gaza Strip ? historic gateway to the Land of Israel.
According to various news reports at the weekend, Osama Bin Laden?s Al-Qaeda terrorist organization is putting down roots in Gaza, has already launched attacks at Israeli targets from there, and sees all-out war against the Jewish state as the final stage in its plan to assert control over the Middle East.
With the achievement of this goal, the way will be open for the next major phase of its plan: an all-out effort to complete the Islamicization of Europe and bring the United States into submission to Allah.
Meanwhile up in Damascus, where their Syrian hosts are feeling increasing heat from Washington, the leaders of a number of secularist ?Palestinian? terrorist organizations have announced their intention to relocate to the Gaza Strip.
And Fatah and Hamas officials meeting in the Syrian capital Friday agreed on the need to end intra-Arab fighting in Gaza and focus their efforts on the ?struggle? against Israel.
The Washington Post reported Friday on the interception in Iraq of a 13-page letter detailing Al-Qaeda?s strategies in the Middle East, including the expulsion of US forces from Iraq, the establishment of a caliphate in as much of that country as possible, the fomenting of jihad in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and war against Israel.
The letter described the Middle East as ?a battleground for large, historic Islamic wars and what is now the place of Islam?s greatest war in the present era.?
Bin Laden?s group announced in Gaza Saturday that the organization has begun working towards uniting all Muslims under a single Islamic state.
In a report headlined Al-Qaeda raises its head in Gaza, The Jerusalem Post Sunday said Al-Qaeda?s ?Palestine branch? had distributed a pamphlet in the Strip spelling out its aims.
The Israeli paper recalled that masked men claiming to represent Al-Qaeda had claimed credit for firing rockets at Jewish towns in Gaza on the eve of the ?Disengagement.?
While some Gaza Arabs said that Al-Qaeda was ?not welcome? there, others voiced appreciation for the group?s decision to join the fight against Israel.
A Palestinian Authority figure said it was Hamas members who were working for Al-Qaeda in Gaza.
Hamas and Al-Qaeda, as well as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are Muslim groups sharing common goals and strategies. Hamas and PIJ leaders last week announced their intention to relocate from Damascus to the Gaza Strip.
But the Islamists are not alone in viewing Gaza as a desirable launching pad for anti-Israel attacks.
Secular terrorist organizations like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ? General Command, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) are also preparing to move to Gaza, according to reports from Syria.
Increasing US pressure on the Syrian regime of Bashar el-Assad may be contributing towards the possibility of such a migration.
In the face of growing Syrian-supported violence in Iraq, the Bush administration has been weighing new steps ? including military options ? to employ against Damascus.
While the potential for fighting between ?Palestinian? Islamist and secular groups was demonstrated in the clashes that erupted between Hamas and Palestinian Authority members in Gaza last week, Hamas and Fatah leaders meeting in Damascus Friday agreed to end internal disputes and focus their hatred on Israel instead.
Traditionally, feuding Arab groups have been able to forget their differences and unite around the cause of Israel?s destruction.