Leaflets glorifying Al-Qa’ida chief Osama Bin Laden have been distributed throughout the southern part of the Gaza Strip, amplifying suspicions that the international terror organization is gaining a foothold in Palestinian territories, according to the London-based A-Sharq Al-Awsat.
The leaflets, signed by an organization calling itself the Army of Jihad and Preventing Corruption, commends Bin Laden and the Jordanian-born Abu Mu’s’ab A-Zarqawi, who is said to be the mastermind of deadly attacks against American forces in Iraq.
Analysts say several anonymous groups in the Palestinian territories have claimed links to Al-Qa’ida but that the veracity of these messages is doubtful.
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Last week Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas told the London-based daily Al-Hayyat there are indications that elements of Al-Qa’ida are in Gaza and the West Bank.
He expressed concern that if these elements were able to enter these areas without any supervision, the result will be the “destruction of the region.”
He said indications of their presence in the Palestinian territories are based on intelligence information, and that the authorities have not reached the point of arrests in this respect.
Meanwhile, Ayman A-Zawahiri, Bin Laden’s deputy, is urging Hamas to continue its “armed struggle” with Israel, in a video aired by the Al-Jazeera satellite channel on Saturday.
He said Hamas should reject previous deals signed between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, calling these deals “surrender accords.”
A-Zawahiri and Bin Laden are thought to be hiding along the Afghani-Pakistani border.