Can al-Qaeda’s Lebanese Expansion Be Stopped?:
Emily Hunt February 6, 2006 - As Israelis assess the implications of Hamas’s victory in January elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council, a new threat may be developing in Lebanon. Al-Qaeda–linked terrorists have been present in Lebanon for a decade, but recent statements by Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi suggest that the dual objectives of destabilizing Arab regimes and targeting Israel proper are becoming top al-Qaeda priorities. Al-Zarqawi–linked terrorists in Lebanon have already engaged in low-level targeting of Israeli and Lebanese interests, yet several obstacles may hinder their ability to launch significant attacks in or from Lebanon. The Lebanese government, although weak, has a clear interest in preventing both internally and externally directed al-Qaeda activity. The dynamic among Hizballah, the Palestinians, and al-Qaeda remains more ambiguous, but early signs suggest potential antagonism among the groups. Together, Israel and the United States may be able to help Lebanon contain this emerging threat.
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Ehud Yaari - Jerusalem Report, February 6, 2006:
And now, al-Qaeda. after many years during which Osama bin Laden and his disciples cursed Israel but never focused their attacks on it, they appear to have started to seriously train their sights in our direction. If, in the past, there were isolated attempts here and there to infiltrate a terrorist into Israel—attempts that were all, incidentally, thwarted in time—since Israel's disengagement from Gaza last summer the organization has been concentrating its efforts on building an infrastructure in the Palestinian territories, and just as worrying, among the Palestinians of South Lebanon and in Sinai and Jordan.Posted on 08 February 2006 @ 16:57 GMT
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