US embassy cable - 00TELAVIV4462

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 004462 
 
- - C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y - - CLASSIFIED BY LINE ADDED 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/05 
TAGS: KWBG, PTER, PGOV, PREL, IS 
SUBJECT: BIN LADIN CONNECTION IN GAZA FOUND PUZZLING; 
CONNECTION TO HAMAS QUESTIONED 
 
CLASSIFIED BY DCM PSIMONS PER 1.5 (B) AND (D) 
 
 
1.  (C) POLITICAL CONTACTS IN GAZA EXPRESSED PUZZLEMENT 
AT ISRAELI MEDIA REPORTS OF A BIN LADIN TERROR NETWORK IN 
GAZA.  PA MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS (AND FORMER HAMAS 
SPOKESPERSON) IMAD FALOUJI TOLD POLOFF THAT HE KNEW THE 
KEY SUSPECT, NABIL OUKAL, WHO WAS A NEIGHBOR FROM 
JABALIYA REFUGEE CAMP.  FALOUJI EXPRESSED PUZZLEMENT AND 
A DEGREE OF SKEPTICISM ABOUT THE MEDIA REPORTS.    OUKAL 
WAS A RELIGIOUS PERSON AND A MEMBER OF THE DAIWA PARTY, 
AN ISLAMIC PARTY IN GAZA WHICH EMPHASIZES THAT AN ISLAMIC 
STATE WILL ONLY COME ABOUT AFTER EXTENSIVE RELIGIOUS 
REFORM AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT, NOTED FALOUJI.  THE 
PARTY DOES NOT BELIEVE IN THE NECESSITY OF POLITICAL 
ACTION TO REACH SUCH A GOAL, BUT FOCUSES ON THE SPIRITUAL 
SIDE.  UNLIKE HAMAS AND OTHER RADICAL ISLAMIC GROUPS, 
MEMBERSHIP IN THIS PARTY IS OPEN TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO 
JOIN, WITHOUT BACKGROUND CHECKS INTO FAMILY OR PREVIOUS 
PARTY AFFILIATIONS, FALOUJI ASSERTED.  DURING THE 
INTIFADAH YEARS, BECAUSE OF ITS OPEN MEMBERSHIP, THE 
PARTY WAS HEAVILY PENETRATED BY MORE RADICAL ISLAMIC 
FACTIONS AND BY ISRAELI SECURITY FORCES, ALL OF WHOM USED 
IT TO SPY ON EACH OTHER, NOTED FALOUJI. 
 
2.  (C)    FALOUJI SAID OUKAL DID NOT "WORK WITH HAMAS" 
AND THE MINISTER DID NOT BELIEVE HAMAS HAD DIRECT 
CONNECTIONS WITH ANY BIN LADIN GROUP.  "HAMAS HAS 
EVERYTHING, MONEY, ORGANIZATION, A MILITARY WING," AND 
HAD NO NEED FOR AN ASSOCIATION WITH SUCH A GROUP, FALOUJI 
OBSERVED.  FALOUJI ALSO DOUBTED THAT SHEIKH YASSIN, THE 
FOUNDER AND SPIRITUAL HEAD OF HAMAS, WOULD ENTER INTO 
SUCH A RELATION.  "IT IS A MISTAKE HE WOULD NOT MAKE.  I 
KNOW SHEIKH YASSIN AND HOW HE THINKS."  YASSIN WAS ONE OF 
THE FIRST MEN TO ESTABLISH A MILITARY WING IN GAZA AND 
KNEW VERY WELL THE TYPE OF PEOPLE WHO WERE CAPABLE OF 
SUCH ACTIVITIES.  "OUKAL IS NOT THE MAN TO BE DOING THIS, 
HE IS NOT A MILITARY TYPE MAN," AND YASSIN WOULD KNOW 
THAT, FALOUJI ASSERTED. 
 
3.  (C) IN ADDITION, HAMAS WOULD BE VERY WARY OF 
ESTABLISHING A RELATION WITH BIN LADIN BECAUSE OF THE 
PRECARIOUS POSITION OF HAMAS' LEADERSHIP ABROAD, ALL OF 
WHOM RESIDE IN COUNTRIES WITH REGIMES THAT DETEST BIN 
LADIN, SAID FALOUJI.  JORDAN, SYRIA, AND GULF COUNTRIES 
MAINTAINED "GOOD" RELATIONS WITH HAMAS AND WOULD HAVE 
STRONGLY OPPOSED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ANY RELATIONS 
BETWEEN HAMAS AND BIN LADIN. FALOUJI DID NOT COMPLETELY 
RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT THERE WAS SOME KIND OF 
INDIRECT, ARMS-LENGTH RELATION BETWEEN HAMAS IN GAZA AND 
OUKAL'S GROUP BUT IF IT EXISTED, IT IS LIKELY TO HAVE 
BEEN VIEWED AS A LOW-LEVEL, 'BILATERAL' POLITICAL 
RELATIONSHIP, NOT AN OPERATIONAL OR SECURITY 
RELATIONSHIP, SAID FALOUJI. 
 
4.  (C) FALOUJI MAINTAINED THAT THE MEDIA WAS BLOWING ANY 
GAZA BIN LADIN CONNECTION OUT OF PROPORTION.  HE 
SPECULATED THAT THERE MAY BE SOME CONNECTION BETWEEN 
OUKAL AND BIN LADIN, BUT DOUBTED IT WAS VERY EXTENSIVE. 
MAYBE OUKAL MET SOME BIN LADIN PEOPLE ABROAD, FOR EXAMPLE 
IN JORDAN OR SAUDI ARABIA, AND POSSIBILITIES WERE 
DISCUSSED, BUT HE DOUBTED IF IT WENT MUCH BEYOND THIS 
TYPE OF APPROACH. 
 
5.  (C) AHMAD ABDEL RAHMAN, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE PA 
CABINET ALSO FOUND THE MEDIA REPORTS PUZZLING.  HE 
DESCRIBED BIN LADIN AS AN "IDIOT" WHO WOULD HAVE 
DIFFICULTY PERSUADING PALESTINIANS TO JOIN HIS TERROR 
EFFORTS.  ABDEL RAHMAN ALSO NOTED THAT "PALESTINIANS HAVE 
THEIR OWN RADICAL ORGANIZATIONS," AND THAT ONLY ISOLATED 
FIGHTERS IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL ASIA WOULD FIND BIN 
LADIN'S OUTFIT WORTH JOINING, ALTHOUGH HE ADMITTED THAT 
SOME POOR PALESTINIAN STUDENTS STUDYING IN PAKISTAN, FOR 
EXAMPLE, MIGHT FIND BIN LADIN'S CALLS APPEALING. 
 
6.  (C) COMMENT:  THESE REACTIONS ARE FROM PA POLITICAL-- 
NOT SECURITY -- SOURCES AND SHOULD BE VIEWED IN THAT 
LIGHT.  HOWEVER, OTHER AGENCY REPORTING TENDS TO SUPPORT 
THE THRUST OF THESE COMMENTS TO THE EFFECT THAT THE 
EXTENT OF THE BIN LADIN CONNECTION IN GAZA MAY NOT BE AS 
DEVELOPED AS REPORTED IN THE ISRAELI MEDIA.  IT IS ALSO 
WORTH NOTING THAT IN THE PAST FALOUJI'S ASSESSMENTS OF 
SOME ISLAMIST PLAYERS IN GAZA HAVE PROVEN USEFUL.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
 
INDYK