Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas voiced fears Thursday that Al-Qaeda had infiltrated the West Bank and Gaza, as Israel warned citizens to avoid its Arab neighbours over fears of an attack.
In an interview with the pan-Arab Al-Hayat daily, Abbas said intelligence had emerged that Osama bin Laden's terror network was in business in the Palestinian territories although it has not carried out any operations.
"We have received indications of a certain Al-Qaeda presence in Gaza and the West Bank," said Abbas. "We are talking about intelligence information but nothing has been intercepted yet.
"I received that last intelligence report three days ago. This is the first time that I have spoken about this situation, which is very serious."
General Dani Arditi, head of Israel's anti-terrorist office, said in October that Al-Qaeda had infiltrated the Gaza Strip from Egypt's neighbouring Sinai peninsula after the withdrawal of Israeli troops the previous month.
Al-Qaeda is believed to have been behind two major attacks on the Sinai: a bombing at the resorts of Taba in October 2004 and Sharm el-Sheikh last July, which combined left more than 100 people dead.
The Sinai, occupied by Israel from 1967 to 1982, is a popular tourist destination for Israelis.
However, in a travel advisory late Wednesday, Israel's National Security Council urged citizens to steer clear not just of Egypt but also neighbouring Jordan.
"In light of the recent upsurge in terrorist activities by 'Global Jihad' in Israel's neighbours, including against foreign nationals and Israelis, the National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Division... recommends that Israeli citizens refrain from visiting or staying in these countries," it said.
Asked to comment on Abbas's claims, acting Israeli leader Ehud Olmert said his security services were ready to cope with any danger.
"I don't know on what kind of information Abu Mazen (Abbas) has based his comments but I can assure you that Israeli intelligence is ready to deal with any infiltration attempt by terrorist organisations in our region," he said after talks with President Moshe Katsav.
The interim prime minister, whose Kadima party is the overwhelming favourite to win a general election on March 28, also vowed to hit Palestinian militant groups with "an iron fist" following a number of recent shooting attacks.
The largest of such radical groups, Hamas, won a Palestinian general election five weeks ago by a landslide.
Olmert reiterated his refusal to meet with Ismail Haniya, Hamas's prime minister-designate, adding that he does "intend to fight terrorism should (Haniya) be implicated in it."
Although it remains blacklisted as a terror group by Israel, the European Union and United States, Hamas has been invited to talks in Russia this Friday.
Abbas urged the international community to give the movement a chance to prove itself and said it was unrealistic to expect Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel and has carried out dozens of suicide attacks in the course of the five-year Palestinian uprising, "to do a 180-degree turn in a month."
In Moscow, the Palestinian ambassador said a change in Hamas policy on Israel was possible.
Hamas "links the issue of recognising Israel as a state to the necessity to end the occupation of Palestinian land," ITAR-TASS news agency quoted Bakir Abdel Munem as saying.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he and other officials would use the meetings to urge Hamas to "moderate" its positions.
And senior Hamas official Mussa Abu Marzuk said "Russia can present to the world a more fair and transparent vision of the Palestinian problem, as opposed to those whose positions are based only on the interests of Israel," in a reference to the United States.
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