Israel's military chief of staff, Gen Shaul Mofaz, said yesterday that Osama bin Laden had recently attempted to carry out a terrorist attack in Israel, but had been thwarted, and newspaper reports indicated that a bin Laden terror cell might still be active in the area.
Although Gen Mofaz declined to go into details, the press reports yesterday named Nabil Ukal, from the Gaza refugee camp of Jabalya, who was arrested by Israel in June last year, as bin Laden's head of operations here, and alleged that he had recruited a sizeable group of militants in the West Bank and Gaza.
According to the Ha'aretz daily, Mr Ukal was indicted for planning "a large-scale attack in the centre of the country," involving the use of suicide bombers. Following his arrest, the report continued, at least "10 members of the bin Laden cell in the territories" were also detained by the Israeli and Palestinian security forces.
Other members of the cell, however, are apparently still at large. Indeed, the Israeli army's intelligence chief, Gen Amos Malka, said three months ago that a bin Laden cell had "recently attempted" an attack.
Mr Ukal is said to have been recruited by associates of bin Laden when studying in Pakistan four years ago. He underwent paramilitary training in Afghanistan, and returned to Gaza in 1998 as a bin Laden envoy, directed by other members of bin Laden's group in Jordan and Britain. Mr Ukal is also said to have received funding from the Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin.
In a videotape distributed recently, bin Laden urged his supporters to attack targets in America and Israel, declaring that their "Palestinian brethren" were crying out for such actions.
Israeli officials have spoken often in recent months of a potential bin Laden threat to the country. In the wake of Tuesday's bombings in the US, they have changed some international flight paths into Israel and bolstered security at airports, which is, in any case, always stringent.
Indeed, several Israeli security experts have said in recent days they believe Black Tuesday-style attacks would have been thwarted had they been attempted in Israel. Passengers are screened and questioned closely before getting on planes, hand-baggage is thoroughly checked, Israeli airlines routinely carry security operatives on their flights, and Israeli jets are poised to scramble if airliners drop off their radar or act suspiciously.