http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1106689.html
Last update - 02:44 11/08/2009
Terrorists who fought U.S. in Iraq make way to Gaza
By Amos Harel Tags: Israel News, IDF, Hamas, Gaza
Dozens of Islamic terrorists have entered the Gaza Strip over the past year and
are operating there in the framework of extremist organizations identified with
the "Worldwide Jihad." The terrorists are Sunni Muslims, many of whom have
taken part in the fighting against American forces in Iraq. So far, as much as
is known, these terrorists have been involved in a relatively small number of
attacks.
Various groups inspired by Al-Qaida and other similar organizations are
responsible for the relatively recent attempts to launch terror attacks from
Gaza. Two months ago the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service
prevented an attempted attack which involved sending booby-trapped horses to
the Erez crossing point. An extremist splinter group was behind the failed
terror attack, but despite the reports in the Palestinian press, Israel did not
identify the involvement of any foreign terrorists in the attack.
T
he flow of foreign terrorists to Gaza will gradually increase, defense
officials forecast, as the friction between the extremist Sunni groups and U.S.
forces in Iraq diminishes in advance of the expected American withdrawal.
Israeli officials are of the opinion that Hamas is not particularly interested
in having these foreigners enter the Strip since they do not act under Hamas
instructions and are identified with even more extremist and uncompromising
ideologies than Hamas itself.
Hamas has a relatively high level of control over the actions of established
groups such as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine. But Hamas is finding it difficult to rein in the smaller and newer
groups, which are identified with Al-Qaida and Worldwide Jihad, and are made up
primarily of former Hamas activists.
The months of quiet since the IDF's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza this past
winter have increased the number of those deserting Hamas in favor of Worldwide
Jihad, as front-line Hamas military activists have increased their criticism of
what they view as the impotence of the organization's leadership against
Israel.
Senior Israeli defense officials confirmed that Hamas in Gaza is not presently
involved in attacks against Israel. The organization is not initiating terror
attacks and in many cases is even preventing such attempts by the smaller
organizations. A senior IDF officer claimed Hamas has moved from just holding
back the groups to actually preventing attacks. He said this was due to Hamas'
"temporary interest in quiet and not from any sudden love for Israel, but those
are the facts for now."
Hamas is interested in a long time-out, say defense officials, in order to
rebuild its military capabilities and strengthen its control of Gaza. Even when
the IDF sends small forces inside the Strip - usually to defuse bombs or clear
areas it suspects are booby-trapped - Hamas prefers to show self-restraint,
even though it feels it has a legitimate cause for a military response against
Israel.
At the same time, Hamas is continuing its intensive efforts to smuggle arms
into Gaza. The Islamic Jihad is also organizing its own arms smuggling, but on
a much smaller basis. Since January, the smuggling has faced more and more
difficulties. Israel attributes much of this to increasing Egyptian motivation
to stop the smuggling, but also to preventative steps taken by other countries.
Hamas' main efforts are focused on smuggling in munitions that will give it a
concrete advantage in a conflict with Israel: medium-range rockets,
anti-aircraft missiles and advanced anti-tank missiles.
Israeli intelligence has no exact information on the missiles that have already
been smuggled in, but the assumption is that Hamas has managed to receive very
few of the advanced missiles. Due to the difficulties in smuggling arms, the
Gazan weapons industry is making great efforts to improve its capabilities, and
in particular to extend the range of its homemade rockets. Hamas seems to have
succeeded in stockpiling a similar number of rockets, in addition to what it
had on hand before Cast Lead.
Hamas continues to send dozens of activists for military training in foreign
countries, particularly in Iran and Lebanon. They travel via Rafa and Egypt.
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