Al-Qaida's presence in the Palestinian territories has been a subject of intense speculation since the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

Al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, recently issued a call for supporting Hamas, and Johnston's kidnappers appeared to be have been inspired by al-Qaida.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in an interview published Tuesday that he did not believe it was possible for Hamas and Fatah to reconcile. And Olmert told the Spanish newspaper El Pais that Abbas once told him he would never make peace with the militant group.

"I personally do not believe in a reconciliation between Hamas and Abu Mazen," Olmert was quoted as saying, using Abbas' nickname. "Abu Mazen himself has been a witness of how they were preparing to kill Palestinians with such brutality that I've never seen in my life."

Also Tuesday, Olmert's office, as well as Egypt and Jordan, said envoys for the 22-nation Arab League have postponed a historic visit to Israel.

The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan were to meet with Olmert and other officials Thursday, but their visit has been put off until July 25, they said. Olmert's office said he had requested that the two foreign ministers come to Israel, and then he asked that the talks be put off "because of prior commitments."

The Arab League has softened its hard-line stance toward Israel in recent months in efforts to counter a growing Islamic fundamentalist influence in the Middle East.

Olmert was expected to discuss with the league envoys a revived Arab peace initiative that calls for full Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for the formation of a Palestinian state and an Israeli withdrawal from all lands captured in 1967.

Israel rejected the plan when it was first presented in 2002, but Olmert recently has expressed willingness to discuss it.

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