Excerpt from 'Anti-Israeli Terrorism, 2006: Data, Analysis and Trends'
By: Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, G'lilot, Israel
(click here to download the complete report)
Chapter VI
Global Jihad in the Middle East in 2006
A. Overview
1. In 2006, global jihad in the Middle East was aimed against Western targets and against “infidel” Arab regimes rather than the State of Israel. Likewise, Israeli and Jewish institutions worldwide were not targeted by the global jihad in 2006.
2. The year 2006 saw the increase of the influences of global jihad ideology on the various terrorist organization operatives in the PA-administered territories. That was especially true for the Gaza Strip, which borders the Sinai Peninsula, a focal point of global jihad. The ideological influences on local operatives turned into local cells associating themselves with global jihad.
3. Nevertheless, it should be taken into account that global jihad organizations in the Middle East and elsewhere may direct their activities against Israel: Israel (and the Jewish people) have already been targets for global jihad acts of terrorism, and in 2006 Ayman al-Zawahiri, Bin Laden’s second-in-command, described Israel as “the scene of jihad” (i.e., an infidel country that is a legitimate target for attack).
4. Due to the potential threat posed to Israel by global jihad organizations in the Middle East, this study not only examines the activity of global jihad in the PA-administered territories but also presents an outline of its activity in the Arab countries bordering Israel. Anti-American (and anti-American ally) global jihad activities in Iraq are not dealt with.
B. The Palestinian Authority
The Gaza Strip
5. In 2006 the influence of global jihad ideology on various Palestinian terrorist operatives increased, especially in the Gaza Strip. The presence of global jihad elements in Sinai (see below) also contributed to the spread of that influence to the Gaza Strip , since terrorist operatives there have almost free access to Sinai.
6. Several dozen terrorist operatives based in the PA-administered territories maintain contacts and are ideological affiliated with global jihad elements across the globe. Those operatives attempt to build a terrorist-operative infrastructure in the PA-administered territories by emulating the modus operandi of global jihad.
7. The Internet facilitates the penetration of global jihad ideology into the Gaza Strip. Terrorist operatives in the PA-administered territories surf Websites run by global jihad organizations, allowing them to receive ideological guidance, instructions for manufacturing arms and explosives, and information about tactics for the perpetration of complex terrorist attacks.
8. One example of the influence of global jihad elements on terrorist operatives in the Gaza Strip was the establishment of a faction named Army of Islam, led by Mumtaz Durmush, an ex-operative of the Popular Resistance Committees and member of a powerful clan in the Gaza Strip. Early this year, he and his followers left the PRC after a conflict with the organization’s leaders. The Army of Islam was first heard of when it claimed partial responsibility for the abduction of Gilad Shalit in Kerem Shalom (June 25).
9. Mumtaz Durmush called his organization the Army of Islam and embraced a modus operandi characteristic of global jihad, including abducting foreigners and attacking sites that offend Islamic morals. The organization is known to perpetrate terrorist attacks with the cooperation or guidance of Hamas’s terrorist-operative infrastructure, and is also known to be associated with global jihad elements. The Army of Islam is one of the three organizations which claimed responsibility for the abduction of Gilad Shalit and was also responsible for the recent abduction of two Fox News reporters.
Mumtaz Durmush (right) with one of his supporters
(the Hamas website, January 21)
Judea and Samaria
10. The Israeli security forces thwarted an attempt to establish a global jihad cell in Nablus. On February 20, 2006, two terrorist-operatives from Nablus had charges brought against them in the military court in Judea and Samaria. Both had been detained by the Israeli security forces in December 2005. According to the charges, the global jihad operatives from Jordan affiliated themselves with a local cell in Nablus, whose members sought external sources of funding, and handled them. The Jordanians represented themselves to the operatives as Al-Qaeda.
11. In meetings held with the global jihad operatives, the members of the Nablus cell suggested perpetrating a double terrorist attack in the Jerusalem neighborhood of French Hill. They intended to use a suicide bomber and a car laden with explosives to maximize casualties, and even received funds for financing preparations for the terrorist attack. During their interrogation, they related that they had been instructed by their handlers to act covertly and strengthen themselves religiously. They also admitted they identified with the ideology of global jihad.
C. Israel’s neighbors
Overview
12. Throughout2006 Iraq stood out as the main stronghold of global jihad in the Middle East. It was the focal point for a steady stream of operatives and arms from Syria and Iran. It was from this stronghold that terrorist operatives infiltrated into Israel’s neighbors (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon). The killing of Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi, the prominent Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq (June 7), was not a severe blow to global jihad and did not result in the cessation of its activity in Iraq and in other Arab countries.
Egypt
13. Of all the territories bordering Israel, the Sinai Peninsula stood out in 2006 as a focal point of global jihad presence, with the Egyptian security services unable to put an end to it.1 The continued perseverance of the global jihad elements in Sinai coupled with its proximity to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip increase the potential threat it poses to both Israel and the Egyptian regime.
14. Of particular note are two terrorist attacks perpetrated in 2006 by the global jihad infrastructure in the Sinai Peninsula:
A. On the evening of April 24 three explosions occurred in the hotel area of Dahab, a resort town situated on the coast of the Red Sea. Twenty-four people were killed and approximately 150 wounded; foreign tourists were among the casualties. The terrorist attacks were perpetrated by suicide bombers who belonged to a terrorist infrastructure affiliated with global jihad. The operative format of the terrorist attack in Dahab was similar to that of previous terrorist attacks in Taba (October 2004) and Sharm el-Sheikh (July 2005). It was meant, like to its predecessors, to challenge the Egyptian regime by hitting the tourist industry.
The destruction after the terrorist attack in Dahab
(courtesy of Israeli TV Channel 10, April 26)
B. On April 16, two other terrorist attacks took place in the Rafah region. A suicide bomber riding a bike blew himself up in the vicinity of a local 1 Speaking at a press conference, Yuval Diskin, the head of Israel Security Agency, described the Sinai region as a “big arms depot” into which supplies flow from various countries. He said that in the long run, airport near the multinational force base in the Egyptian part of Rafah. Another explosion occurred at a distance of some 700m (a little less than half a mile) from the first explosion, when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a police car. As a result, a police officer was lightly injured.
15. In December 2006 a network was uncovered in Egypt, comprised of about 15 operatives of various nationalities (mostly French) who, according to the Egyptian security forces, maintained contacts with global jihad elements to infiltrate operatives or suicide bombers into Iraq as part of the struggle against the coalition forces. The detainees were questioned and deported from Egypt to their countries of origin.
Syria
16. Syria plays a central part in helping the global jihad infrastructure establish itself in the Middle East, by providing logistic support, training centers, and a haven for global jihad operatives, especially those sent into and out of Iraq. Noteworthy was a statement made by a “senior American official” who said that Syria (and Iran) exercise control over the level of violence in Iraq, since most of Al-Qaeda’s terrorist operatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Sudan come to Syria. There they receive training and instruction and then cross the border into Iraq (Financial Times, January 31, 2007). Despite American appeals, the Syrian regime took no decisive action to put an end to the flow of operatives to Iraq.
17. However, the activity of global jihad elements also poses a threat to the Syrian regime. On June 2, the Syrian security forces confronted a group of about ten gunmen referred to by the regime as “Syrian fundamentalists”, who had infiltrated into an abandoned building near the customs administration in Damascus. One member of the Syrian counter-terrorist squad and four gunmen were killed in the fighting. Rifles, ammunition, and religious propaganda were found in the possession of the squad members (June 2).
The hiding place of the squad (right) and the weapons found in its possession (left)
(Syrian TV, June 2)
18. On September 12 a squad of four terrorists attacked the US embassy in Damascus, situated near several other embassies, not far from the presidential palace. The attackers arrived on the scene in two cars, one of which was converted into a car bomb with explosive bricks and gas tanks. The four attackers apparently belonged to the Army of Al-Sham (Jund al-Sham) cell, affiliated with global jihad.
Right: Syrian security forces closing off the area. Left: the damage caused to windows
(Al-Jazeera TV, September 12)
Lebanon
19. There are several (mostly Palestinian) cells operating in Lebanon which are ideologically associated with global jihad. Most of their infrastructure is based in Palestinian refugee camps in northern Lebanon. They also operate in the Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camp in Beirut and the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Sidon. The activity of global jihad elements is mostly reflected in organizing courses for military training and indoctrination, also attended by operatives from outside of Lebanon. Some of the graduates are sent to Iraq or to their countries of origin to form cells of global jihad infrastructure.
20. In the months that followed the second Lebanon war, global jihad elements made extensive efforts to strengthen and entrench their infrastructure in Lebanon. That was the result of a decision made by the Al-Qaeda leadership to expand its presence in Lebanon to use it as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against Israel and foreign targets in Lebanon.
21. The Lebanese government attempts to act against global jihad elements. The Lebanese press reported that throughout 2006 and in early 2007 Lebanese security forces uncovered terrorist cells associated with global jihad:
A. In January 2006, the Lebanese security forces detained 13 Al-Qaeda operatives (seven Syrians, three Lebanese, a Saudi, a Jordanian, and a Palestinian). The interrogations shed light on their involvement in purchasing arms and possessing false identification. An investigation was launched against the squad members and charges were pressed.
B. In March 2006, the Lebanese army announced that its military intelligence had succeeded in uncovering and arresting a cell of eight terrorists, four Lebanese and four Palestinians, linked with global jihad. The squad members, who operated in Beirut, stored arms and ammunition throughout Lebanon (March 11).
Some of the arms and ammunition found in the possession of the terrorist cell uncovered by the Lebanese army (Al-Arabiya TV, March 11)
C. In January 2007 exchanges of fire took place between the Lebanese army and several dozen operatives belonging to the Army of Al-Sham, an organization affiliated with global jihad, who operated on the outskirts of the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Sidon (the district of Ta’mir). About five people from both sides were injured. The Lebanese army took over the district; however, it avoided entering the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, which is controlled by the Palestinian terrorist organizations.
Jordan
22. In 2006, global jihad elements continued their efforts to perpetrate terrorist attacks against Western targets and tourist sites in Jordan. The Jordanian security services continued carrying out successful counter-activities and succeeded in thwarting a number of terrorist attacks.