Gaza: Islamic Hotbed

MA'ALE ADUMIM, Israel - Nearly two years ago, the Israeli government uprooted its own people living in the Gaza Strip and turned the land over to the Palestinians. The hope was that it would give Palestinians a chance to develop their own state and bring greater security to Israel. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Israelis mourned their departure from Gaza in 2005, and some thought the mourning would be over after the withdrawal.

But Gaza today reveals a frightening picture: Islamic Jihad troops marching and chanting, "Israel will not exist. Certainly, certainly it will not exist."

Rather than bringing renewed security to Israel, Gaza is a boiling pot of Islamic terror, focused on Israel.

CBN News has closely followed Islamic Jihad, one of the leading terror groups, and learned that Islamic radicals now have greater, more powerful tools of terror than ever before.

Gaza-made rockets are being fired at Israeli targets just over the border.

Added to the arsenal are Zilzal cordless roadside bombs, which are activated by cell phones.

And now, since the Israelis are gone, the terrorists fearlessly train in the open.

They learn how to fight. How to patrol.

And how to crawl long distances and reach Israeli targets.

The militants endure pain to build their stamina for what lies ahead of them.

Now, women are used more than ever. Many are given terror assignments. One woman demonstrated how to carry the explosive suicide belt around her waist.

She said, "We'll be sure to disguise ourselves so we will not be recognized as suicide bombers."

Nafez Azam is one of the main leaders of Islamic Jihad. Israel recently added him to its list of targeted terrorists.

And with good reason. Azam says that his total focus is not politics, but Israel's destruction. And he says that he will never disarm.

"This is impossible. Whatever it takes, Islamic Jihad won't put down its weapons," Azam vowed. "The Islamic jihad weapon is legitimate and sacred to defend the Palestinian people, a compromise over it won't ever be possible."

Here, and everywhere in Israel, authorities are standing guard against terrorist attacks. But while some terror groups try to politicize their moves, members of Islamic Jihad remain focused on the war against Israel from their central training ground in Gaza.