Damascus-based Hamas leader Imad El-Alami returns to Gaza Gaza – Mohammad Habib and Sona Al-Deek Hamas politburo member and senior leader Imad El-Alami arrived at the Gaza Strip on Sunday, following 20 years of exile. In his first statement after crossing the Rafah border, El-Alami said his return to Palestine was a “moment of victory to the resistance which freed Gaza...and as we have returned to it today, we will return to Jerusalem one day.”
He aslo said he missed the late Sheikh Ahmed Yasin and Abdel Aziz Al-Rantissi.
Hamas warmly welcomed El-Alami back, whilepolitburo member Khalil Al-Hayya said El-Alami’s return was a “gain for Hamas”.
El-Alami, a graduate of civil engineering from Alexandria University in Egypt, was detained on September 28, 1988, for charges of “incitement” through the media committee of Hamas. He was later released in September 1990, but was exiled to Lebanon in 1991 with three other Hamas leaders.
Imad El-Alami’s return comes after Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum had stressed that there would be no changes with regard to the presence of the movement in Syria.
Meanwhile, Israeli daily Haaretz revealed on Monday that there were growing concerns among Israeli security that the return of more experienced “terror activists” following the Gilad Shalit deal could “upgrade the daring and sophistication of attacks in the West Bank”.
Haaretz cited Israeli security officials noting that Hamas had been making concerted efforts in recent months to renew its activities in the West Bank.
According to officials over the past few weeks, the Israeli Defence Forces have intercepted relatively large funds that Hamas activists abroad tried to smuggle into the West Bank as part of these efforts.
Since Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, and its expulsion of the Fatah leadership there, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has come down hard on Hamas activists in the area. Hundreds of Hamas activists have been imprisoned for extended periods, funds have been confiscated and Hamas-affiliated charities and organisations have been closed down.
However, following last October's prisoner-exchange deal that saw Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit freed from Hamas captivity in return for the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, Hamas' standing in the West Bank boosted.
“One indication of this has been the seized money, which, security officials believe, was intended to help reignite Hamas activities following a long period during which the organization had difficulty in operating in the West Bank,” said Haaretz.
“It appears that in the initial stage, Hamas is trying to spark activists back into action in various parts of the West Bank. By and large, Hamas has refrained from staging terror attacks from the West Bank in recent years, due both to operational difficulties and political considerations,” it added.
Israeli security’s concern focused on the younger prisoners released in the framework of the Shalit deal. These released prisoners “have accumulated know-how and training in terror activities from veteran prisoners with whom they served their time,” according to Israeli officials quoted by Haaretz.
“Most terror attacks perpetrated in the past two years have been carried out by relatively young and inexperienced cells,” it added.
At present, security officials are concerned that the return of more experienced Hamas leaders could upgrade the scale of the attacks in the West Bank.