It seems al-Qaida has begun to infiltrate the Gaza Strip. This Jerusalem Post article reports that parts of Gaza are beginning to be like Afghanistan under the Taliban.

A leaflet signed by al-Qaida of Jihad in Palestine says their goal is to restore the Caliphate and unite Muslims into one state.

If Gaza becomes a terrorist base camp on the edge of Israel it will present some interesting challenges to President Bush and his stated aims in the war on terror. It is American policy to consider any state that harbors terrorists as an enemy. Will America's support of a Palestinian state be tested should the Authority prove incapable of curbing terrorist activity?

Gaza has been turned over to the Palestinian Authority and Israel considers Gaza a sovereign state. Israel will not tolerate a terrorist state that close to its land. If terrorists use Gaza as a staging ground Israel will attack, as it did two weeks ago when Hamas fired rockets into Israeli settlements.

I will be in Israel next month and a peaceful climate in that neighborhood is high on my list right now.