Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin, commander of the IDF Intelligence Corps, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that Lebanon, Syria and Egypt have all seen an increase in Al-Qaeda activity in recent months. The IDF assessment is that Ayman Al-Zawahiri, assumed to be Al-Qaeda's current second-in-command, has given the order for the organization's operatives to spread out in the three Arab countries.
In addition, a small number of Al-Qaeda terrorists reached Gaza, Yadlin said. IDF forces were said to have arrested several Al-Qaeda members in the Shechem area in Samaria, as well.
"Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Al-Qaeda men have reached Lebanon," said Yadlin. "The men are trained and possess terrorist knowledge." Al-Qaeda in Lebanon poses a threat mostly to UNIFIL and Western interests, the IDF Intelligence Corps commander explained.
Addressing another Islamist threat to Israel from Lebanon, Maj.-Gen. Yadlin told the Knesset committee that the Hizbullah is steadily increasing its strength there, despite the presence of UN peacekeepers trying to implement UN Resolution 1701. While there are confrontations between UNIFIL and Hizbullah fighters, "it doesn't prevent Hizbullah from revitalizing itself," Yadlin said.
On Saturday, French soldiers in Lebanon exchanged fire with members of Hizbullah. The clash ended only with the intervention of the Lebanese army.
At the same time, Yadlin noted that the Hizbullah patron Syria has stepped down from its high level of military alert, instituted at the start of the war in Lebanon over the summer. Maj.-Gen. Yadlin admitted to the MKs that he was uncertain if Syrian President Bashar Assad was sincere in seeking a diplomatic agreement with Israel at this stage.
Regarding the Iranian backers of Hizbullah, the IDF intelligence chief said that they may be able to produce a nuclear bomb by mid-2009, or earlier, if they can obtain enriched materials from outside Iran. As for now, Yadlin said, Iran is using the UN Security Council's ultimatum countdown for uranium enrichment. "Iran is trying to convey the message that it is too late," he said.
Like Hizbullah and Al-Qaeda, the Hamas terrorist organization and its Palestinian Authority government is also gaining strength, Yadlin said. Thanks to massive smuggling across the Egypt-Gaza border and other forms of money transfer, Yadlin explained, the Hamas government is stabilizing economically. An additional factor in its stabilization is the international legitimacy Hamas leaders are given in many countries, including invitations extended to PA prime minister Ismail Haniyeh.
On the other hand, last month, Al-Qaeda's Al-Zawahiri attacked the leaders of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority as betrayers of Islam and collaborators with the United States and Israel. Referring to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and to a senior member of the Fatah organization, Al-Zawahiri asked:
"How is it possible for Mahmoud Abbas to be a brother of ours, or for Muhammad Dahlan to be a brother of ours, when they have grown fat on the bribes of the Jews and gifts of the Americans? ...Do not recognize their legitimacy... Don't sit with them... and do not sign with them the documents that will make you lose Palestine."
Responding to the Al-Qaeda charges that the Fatah leadership consists of "enemies" to the Muslims, PA spokesman Jamal Nazal said that Al-Qaeda was trying to drive a wedge between Fatah and Hamas, whose militias clashed violently last month. Both Hamas and Fatah forces admit to collaboration in using foreign aid and weapons against Israeli and Jewish targets.
In addition, a small number of Al-Qaeda terrorists reached Gaza, Yadlin said. IDF forces were said to have arrested several Al-Qaeda members in the Shechem area in Samaria, as well.
"Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Al-Qaeda men have reached Lebanon," said Yadlin. "The men are trained and possess terrorist knowledge." Al-Qaeda in Lebanon poses a threat mostly to UNIFIL and Western interests, the IDF Intelligence Corps commander explained.
Addressing another Islamist threat to Israel from Lebanon, Maj.-Gen. Yadlin told the Knesset committee that the Hizbullah is steadily increasing its strength there, despite the presence of UN peacekeepers trying to implement UN Resolution 1701. While there are confrontations between UNIFIL and Hizbullah fighters, "it doesn't prevent Hizbullah from revitalizing itself," Yadlin said.
On Saturday, French soldiers in Lebanon exchanged fire with members of Hizbullah. The clash ended only with the intervention of the Lebanese army.
At the same time, Yadlin noted that the Hizbullah patron Syria has stepped down from its high level of military alert, instituted at the start of the war in Lebanon over the summer. Maj.-Gen. Yadlin admitted to the MKs that he was uncertain if Syrian President Bashar Assad was sincere in seeking a diplomatic agreement with Israel at this stage.
Regarding the Iranian backers of Hizbullah, the IDF intelligence chief said that they may be able to produce a nuclear bomb by mid-2009, or earlier, if they can obtain enriched materials from outside Iran. As for now, Yadlin said, Iran is using the UN Security Council's ultimatum countdown for uranium enrichment. "Iran is trying to convey the message that it is too late," he said.
Like Hizbullah and Al-Qaeda, the Hamas terrorist organization and its Palestinian Authority government is also gaining strength, Yadlin said. Thanks to massive smuggling across the Egypt-Gaza border and other forms of money transfer, Yadlin explained, the Hamas government is stabilizing economically. An additional factor in its stabilization is the international legitimacy Hamas leaders are given in many countries, including invitations extended to PA prime minister Ismail Haniyeh.
On the other hand, last month, Al-Qaeda's Al-Zawahiri attacked the leaders of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority as betrayers of Islam and collaborators with the United States and Israel. Referring to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and to a senior member of the Fatah organization, Al-Zawahiri asked:
"How is it possible for Mahmoud Abbas to be a brother of ours, or for Muhammad Dahlan to be a brother of ours, when they have grown fat on the bribes of the Jews and gifts of the Americans? ...Do not recognize their legitimacy... Don't sit with them... and do not sign with them the documents that will make you lose Palestine."
Responding to the Al-Qaeda charges that the Fatah leadership consists of "enemies" to the Muslims, PA spokesman Jamal Nazal said that Al-Qaeda was trying to drive a wedge between Fatah and Hamas, whose militias clashed violently last month. Both Hamas and Fatah forces admit to collaboration in using foreign aid and weapons against Israeli and Jewish targets.