Al Qaeda in Palestinian Territories

Al-Ayyam, a Palestinian newspaper, is reporting (FBIS translation, no link available):

A group claiming affiliation to [be] the Al-Qa'ida organization has said it has been set up in the Palestinian territories. This was announced in a statement that reached the office of AFP, Agence France Presse. The authenticity of the statement has not yet been established. The statement was headlined: "Al-Quds Islamic Army - Al-Qa'ida Organization in the Land of Steadfastness (Arabic: jaysh al-quds al-islami - tandim al-qa'idah fi ard al-ribat). The statement said: "Thanks to God, the group of the Islamic Army affiliated to the Al-Qa'ida Organization in the Land of Steadfastness has been established against occupation and the worshippers of the cross".

The statement added that "this was done in response to the call of God and the words of the Mujahid Shaykh Usama Bin-Ladin, Shaykh Ayman al-Zawahiri and Shaykh Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the Al-Qa'ida Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers".

There have been a number of similar reports in the last year or two, add this one to the pile.