Al-Qaeda targets Israel directly....

An ominous sign...

Israel provided the first evidence of al-Qa'eda activity in the West Bank yesterday when two Palestinians were charged with receiving funds and training from the group for a double bombing in Jerusalem.

While Israel has often connected its own struggle against Palestinian extremism with the international "war on terror", the case gives the most concrete proof yet of al-Qa'eda penetration of the country.

However, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, recently announced he had evidence that it had tried to recruit in Gaza and the West Bank.

According to military court documents, the two Palestinians, Azam Abu Al'aads and Ba'lal Hafnaui, both 19, from Nablus, were recruited while visiting Jordan.

They then returned to Nablus and received e-mail messages from handlers to prepare for a double attack involving a bomb at a pizzeria and then a secondary device intended for the resulting crowd.