Abbas admits: Al Qaeda active in Gaza

For the first time, Mahmoud Abbas tells the truth. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday admitted what Israeli security experts have been saying for over a year - that Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network is active in the Gaza Strip. Speaking to the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, Abbas said that Al Qaeda cells were receiving assistance from Gaza's Hamas rulers in setting up a base of operations. Abbas complained that the Hamas-Al Qaeda alliance would only hinder the overall Palestinian goal of gaining sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and declaring a sovereign state that includes the Gaza Strip.