 Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S) |
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The Egyptian interior ministry exposed operative collaboration between terrorist elements in Sinai (connected to the Global Jihad and suspected of involvement in the attacks at Dahab) and Palestinian terrorist elements in the Gaza Strip (whose identity is unclear).
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Scenes from the terrorist attack in Dahab which killed 24 people |
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The Egyptian interior ministry recently divulged that two terrorist-operatives belonging to an organization calling itself the Al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (the Unity of Allah and Holy War) had been arrested. They are suspected of involvement in the April 2006 terrorist attacks at Dahab and of having been trained in the use of weapons and explosives by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip . The statement did not – perhaps intentionally – give the name of the Palestinian terrorist organization whose operatives trained the two terrorists (Agence France-Press and AP, May 23; Al-Akhbar, May 24).
Al-Tawhid wal-Jihad 1 claimed responsibility for all three of the large-scale attacks carried out in Sinai during the past year and a half (at Taba, Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab). It is a terrorist infrastructure operating in Sinai and composed of Bedouins and Palestinians who have access to weapons, have operational connections with the Global Jihad and are motivated by Al-Qaeda's radical Islamic ideology. So far they have demonstrated their ability to survive and continue carrying out terrorist attacks even though their leaders have been killed by Egyptian security force counter-terrorist activities.
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This is the first Egyptian announcement confirming the existence of collaboration between Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip and the Global Jihad infrastructures in Sinai which carried out the terrorist attacks at Dahab. In our assessment such collaboration, from the Egyptian point of view, means that Palestinian terrorism is liable to trickle into Sinai from the Gaza Strip and to damage not only Israel but the Egyptian régime as well . Despite the fact that Hamas was quick to deny any involvement in the affair, the movement may, in our assessment, be perceived by the Egyptians as responsible and as the place to apply pressure. That is because its ideology identifies with that of the Global Jihad, because Hamas is the organization which formed the new government and it is a central source of power in the Gaza Strip. |
Reactions to the Egyptian interior ministry statement:
The following were the most important reactions:
• Egypt : Galal Dweidar, writing in Al-Akhbar on May 24 said that “there is no doubt that the Egyptian people, which have supported the Palestinians [in their struggle] for decades and sacrificed everything to help them realize their rights, will be greatly shocked by this terrifying information.” He wondered “how those Palestinians [mentioned in the interior ministry statement] could act against Egypt 's stability and security. Is this how we are paid back by those thankless Palestinians?”
• The Palestinian Authority (PA), Abu Mazen : The PA condemned the involvement of Palestinians in the suicide bombing attack carried out at Dahab. Altib ‘Abd al-Rahim, the chairman's general secretary, told an Agence France-Presse reporter on May 24 that “we strongly deplore any attempt to harm the security of [our] sister Egypt .” He stated that the PA would cooperate with the Egyptian government to expose those involved in the terrorist attacks at Dahab.
• The PA, Hamas : Khalil Abu Layla, responsible for Hamas' foreign relations, strongly denied that the movement interfered in the internal affairs of Arab states. 2 On May 23 he told a Sama News Agency reporter that Hamas had excellent relations with Egypt , was “worried about Egypt 's security and guards it as it guards the security of Palestine .” A spokesman for the Palestinian interior ministry stated that the PA had not received official information about the training undergone in the Gaza Strip by the terrorists who carried out the attack at Dahab.
Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya deplores the attack at Dahab after the
Egyptian interior ministry's statement. Hamas was quick to deny any interference
in Egypt 's internal affairs (Egyptian TV ).
1 Al-tawhid signifies the belief in monotheism, which is the first pillar of Islam. The extremist Islamists gave it a political slant, according to which Muslims are forbidden to accept any authority except that of Allah on the basis of the Qur'an and the oral tradition ( hadith ). Al-jihad is the Muslim holy war. Al-tawhid wal-jihad was the first name given to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's organization in Iraq before it joined Al-Qaeda. Al-Zarqawi's organization sometimes still uses the name despite the fact that its official name is the Organization of Al-Qaeda in Iraq .
2 It should be remembered that Jordan recently exposed wide-scale terrorist activity on its soil, carried out by Hamas and directed from Syria . The Jordanians presented a great deal of proof of Hamas involvement in terrorist activities carried out in Jordan, consisting, among other things, of statements from the interrogation of those arrested and the large amounts of weapons recovered. Nevertheless, Hamas has denied any connection to the affair.