al Qaida Active in Gaza

With Hamas controlling the Gaza strip for about a year now. It should be no surprise that al Qaida is active there. Both Hamas and al Qaida stem from the Islamic Brotherhood. Reuters

A year after Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip, Abu Hafss is waiting impatiently to see a sword remove the hand of a thief or a woman stoned to death for adultery.

"Hamas does not implement the rule of God," the Palestinian ally of al Qaeda said. "We have seen no one have his hand cut off for stealing. We have seen no one stoned as an adulterer."

Yet for all Abu Hafss' disappointment with the approach Hamas has adopted since it routed secular rivals in Gaza a year ago, some analysts believe smaller, more radical groups like Abu Hafss' secretive Jaysh al-Ummah (Army of the Nation) have benefited from the Hamas takeover to expand their membership.

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Despite an official Hamas policy of respecting the rights of Gaza's small Christian minority, there has been an increase in attacks on Christians in the past year, apparently by Islamists not content with the extent of Hamas's "Islamisation" of Gaza.

Among the outward signs of that have been a proliferation of beards on men and headscarves on some women, along with the virtual disappearance of alcohol and a ban on pornographic websites -- though Hamas officials reject accusations that they are embarked on a program to impose Islamic law on daily life.

If Gazans are more observant of Islamic practice -- and not all in the enclave agree that this so -- that is the result of persuasion, Hamas says.

"It does not happen by force but through growing public awareness," said spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

HAVEN

Yet Israel, Egypt and others are concerned that Gaza under Hamas's isolated control may become a haven for al Qaeda-allied groups, such as the Army of Islam, a clan-based group which last year held a British journalist hostage in Gaza for four months.

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Statements by bin Laden and Zawahri have placed growing emphasis on Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Zawahri urged Palestinians last week to step up attacks against Israel.

Abu Hafss, who conducted an interview with Reuters clad in the traditional black Arab robes and skullcap favored by Islamist fighters elsewhere, said his group, whose strength he declined to detail, was firmly aligned with al Qaeda -- although it lacked a formal hierarchical link with Osama bin Laden.

"There is no need for al Qaeda to be here in Palestine as an organization. It exists as thinking on the ground," he said. "We have no factional link to al Qaeda but they are our brothers in the religion ... There is no difference in our understanding."

It remains hard to gauge the influence of such radical ideas among a Palestinian population in Gaza whose brand of Islam has long been of a more tolerant variety than that further east in the Arab world.

Though Hamas won a majority of seats in Gaza in the 2006 parliamentary election, it is not clear that all their supporters favor a formally Islamic state.

Many Gazans say they have felt pressured by the widespread presence of Hamas fighters into adopting more Islamic ways.