Israel Matzav

Dahab suicide bombers said to be trained by Hamas

On Friday, I told you all that Egypt was accusing Hamas of harboring one of the suspects in the Dahab bombing attack. Well, there's more to it than that. A couple of hours ago, the Egyptians announced that two Palestinians had helped fund and train members of an Egyptian terrorist group blamed for the Dahab attack and for other bombings in Sinai.

An Egyptian Interior Ministry statement said that a Palestinian named 'Abu Suleiman' provided the Egyptian group with money, and that another Palestinian, identified by the statement as Maged al-Deri, trained members of the group in the use of explosives and firearms in the Gaza Strip.

WorldNetDaily.com notes that this is the second time that the Egyptians have made a specific connection between the bombings in Egypt and Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

Three major attacks have occurred in Sinai since October 2004. According to the Egyptians, all of them were carried out by a group calling itself Monotheism and Jihad, led by Nasser Khamis el-Mallahi.

El-Mallahi had sent the three suicide bombers who carried out the Dahab bombings last month for training in Gaza.

According to WorldNetDaily, Egyptian special forces in recent weeks have been raiding Bedouin villages in the Sinai, making multiple arrests and leading interrogations of suspected militants.

WorldNetDaily notes that Egypt is said to be very closely monitoring the Hamas' relationship with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which seeks to create an Islamic theocracy in place of the current Mubarak regime, considered a regional ally to the U.S. I have pointed out in the past that Mubarak is not a great ally to the United States, but obviously, the Muslim Brotherhood would be worse.

Hamas is an offshoot of the Brotherhood, which won an unprecedented 20 percent of the Parliament in the latest Egyptian elections.

According to WorldNetDaily, Palestinian security sources close to Hamas say that Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Mahdi Akif has been serving as a replacement Hamas spiritual leader since Israel assassinated former spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin in March 2004.

Multiple Brotherhood leaders in Egypt have stated many times their group is strengthened by the Hamas ascension to power. They have said that they wish to stage a similar takeover of Egypt.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:32 PM