David Bedein reports in the Philadelphia Bulletin:
In a development that could cause concern for the United States, al-Qaida appears to be targeting Palestinian refugee camps for recruitment, according to a report by the Washington-based Jamestown foundation.
The report documents how the al-Qaida-aligned Fatah Al Islam was recruiting cells in such United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Lebanese camps as Bidawi and Burj Al Shamali.
….Jamestown said Palestinians were undergoing radicalization and adopting the al-Qaida doctrine of jihad, or holy war.
“Socio-political conditions in these camps, which have been under the control of the secular Palestinian political organizations, play an important role in increasing the influence of Salafism,” the report said.
Last year, al-Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden addressed the Palestinians at least three times and appealed for their participation in his Islamist war against the West. Mr. Bin Laden has urged Palestinians to fight the United States in Iraq before moving on to Israel.
Checking the Jamestown Foundation website, I see that their report is from October 30. But since I haven’t seen anything about it before, it’s worth posting. The mainstream media are so tied to the storyline of “Israel is evil, Palestinians are pitiful victims” that it is difficult for them to notice a report like this which highlights a real threat coming out of the camps — that is, a potential threat to the U.S., not just to Israel, which doesn’t merit their sympathy.