The Israeli government has ordered the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, to make the hunt for Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda members its top priority after last Thursday's Sinai attacks that killed at least 33 people, including at least 11 Israeli tourists.
According to The Sunday Times, the order to the Mossad to turn its attention from Palestinian groups to
Al-Qaeda was given by Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon, after Israeli intelligence sources said the size of the blasts suggested they were the work of al Qaeda network.
"This time Al-Qaeda hit our back yard," an Israeli security source was quoted as saying by The Times. "If we don't focus on them, next time it will be Tel Aviv. After four years of intifada we've succeeded in containing the Palestinian terror, but now we're facing a much more ruthless enemy we can't ignore any more."
When Mossad was presented with a list of priorities for the current year, Al-Qaeda was not on it. Its main efforts were instead to be directed at Iran's nuclear ambitions and the activities of Palestinian groups in Lebanon and Syria, the London-based paper added. (albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
