Al Qaeda and Palestinian objectives

Louis Rene Beres and Clare M. Lopez:

Most Palestinian communities across the world were jubilant on September 11, 2001. This past June, these very same communities expressed outrage at the successful American assassination of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. For them, the murderous mastermind of al Qaeda in Iraq had been a great hero. Dead, he was now a "martyr."
But the Palestinian link to al Qaeda has become more than mere sympathy and friendship. Al Qaeda has now set its sights on Israel and on an incremental takeover of the Palestinian cause. This is the next phase of its campaign to dominate the Muslim world and re-establish an Islamic Caliphate.
In the wake of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in August 2005, and Hezbollah's war with Israel in July 2006, al Qaeda perceives a unique opportunity. With chaos gripping both the Palestinian Authority and the Lebanese political scene, al Qaeda has precisely the opening it needs to counter Iran's radical Shi'ite expansionism and to acquire a necessary foothold in the region. Its direct entry into the Arab-Israeli conflict could produce major instabilities and war.
A common hatred of the United States and Israel facilitates networks of tactical cooperation between Palestinians and al Qaeda. These alignments have functioned for some time in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon. Shadowy connections exist among clandestine cells that now stretch from the Sinai, across the border into Gaza, and on up to the refugee camps in Lebanon. They involve information sharing, weaponry, safe houses and scientific expertise. The overriding purpose of these alignments is future terror attacks against both Israel and the United States. These planned operations could include chemical, biological or even nuclear technologies.
None of this should be a surprise. Immediately after September 11, not only Hamas approached al Qaeda, but so too did Yasser Arafat's own forces. Fatah, formed as Mr. Arafat's personal movement to dominate the PLO, had openly embraced "martyrdom operations" against Israeli women and children as the al-Aqsa Intifada first unfolded in 2001. Although Palestinian terrorists hardly needed al Qaeda to prod them to commit further acts of cruelty, the example of September 11 seemed to offer them both comfort and resolve. For its part, al Qaeda has been more than pleased that its Palestinian collaborators now cite frequently to the sacred Hadith: "Oh, Allah, annihilate the Jews and their supporters."
The glorification of killing for Islam has infiltrated previously secular Palestinian terror groups by way of Iranian-influenced Hezbollah, just as it has affected al Qaeda. In addition to the usual sanctification of "suicide bombing," both also approve of certain religion-based killings within the Islamic community. Both term Muslims who allegedly collaborate with the United States murtaddun (apostates) and both prescribe the sentence of murtadd harbi; to wit, the "ally with Satan" is condemned with a fatwa that pronounces a death sentence. The pertinent Koranic verse is this: "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Prophet and strive to make mischief in the land, is only this -- that they should be murdered or crucified, or their hands and feet should be cut off on opposing sides." There is no difference here between man and woman: "It is permissible to shed the blood of a woman who is a heretic [harbiyya] even if her fighting is limited to singing."
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There is much more. All of this raises the question of why we continue support an accommodation with the Palestinians. I think it is because of the vain hope that once they have their own country they will act like people with something to lose. They want. They will still pursue their objective of the destruction of Israel, but from a stronger base. The reality remains that the Palestinians have nothing of value to offer Israel because they have no intention of stopping their war to conquer Israel. Their religious bigotry will not be abated by having a state.