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Source: http://washingtontimes.com/world/20040131-113631-7082r.htm
Al-Qaeda Keeps Off Israel for Now
(Washington Times) Jay Bushinsky - Israeli intelligence officials believe that al-Qaeda has largely spared the Jewish state from terrorist attacks as part of a global plan to first destroy the U.S. and establish an Islamic empire before targeting Israel, based on intensive monitoring of al-Qaeda's operations, and statements and analysis of its leadership's beliefs. Bin Laden and his followers have been under scrutiny in Israel since the late 1990s - at least two years before September 11. Al-Qaeda's presence in the Palestinian territories today is limited to rank-and-file operatives, usually Palestinians or Jordanians, who maintain close links with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. According to foreign ministry adviser Jonathan D. Halevi, al-Qaeda is waging jihad, or holy war, against the U.S. as "retaliation" for what it considers "the terrorist war waged by the U.S. against the nation of Islam."