Abbas: Al-Qaida has infiltrated Gaza Strip
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-02 17:00

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview published Thursday that the al-Qaida terror network has infiltrated the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

In this image made available from the Palestinian Authority, Qatar's emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, left, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas review an honor guard before their talks in Qatar, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006. Iran has promised $250 million to the Palestinian Authority to compensate for money the US and Israel have threatened to withhold as Islamic Hamas militants take over, according to a published report on Tuesday. [AP]

Al-Qaida operations in the Palestinian areas could have dire consequences for the entire region, Abbas told the Arabic language Al Hayat newspaper, published in London.

"We have signs of an al-Qaida presence in the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas said, without elaborating. "We haven't yet reached the stage of capturing them."

Abbas said he had not expected the group would succeed in setting up operations in the Palestinian areas.

"The infiltration of al-Qaida can ruin the whole region," he said.

Israel has warned that al-Qaida was operating in the Gaza Strip, and arrested a Palestinian allegedly working with the group.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in September, relinquishing control of the border crossing with Egypt through which many Palestinians enter Gaza.

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has repeatedly cited Israel as a target, and the Palestinian cause as one of the reasons for the network's attacks.

Last year, Jordan's King Abdullah said he was convinced al-Qaida had set up terror cells in Israel.