VIDEO: Egyptian, Saudi al-Qaida terrorists claim border attack

Video released showing two terrorists who were killed on Monday after attacking Israelis working on the border fence near Kadesh Barnea • The terrorists said they were Saudi Arabian and Egyptian nationals.

While the claim of responsibility, made in a video obtained by The Associated Press in the Gaza Strip, could not be independently verified, it was accompanied by a separate statement with additional details on the attack posted on a website affiliated with al Qaeda.

According to Israel Radio, one of the terrorists who appeared in the video claimed to be a Saudi national and the other said he was an Egyptian. One of the men said the act was in honor of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and Osama bin Laden.

Al-Arabiya reported that at the beginning of the video, a masked man says „We announce the formation of the Shura Council of the Mujahideen of Jerusalem as the foundation of a blessed Jihadi operation, with a clear path and features to be a brick in the global project of bringing back the [Islamic] caliphate. To the foes of God – the Jews – we say, you infidels must know that what is coming is different than what has preceded and we shall make you drink from the same poisonous glass you gave to the people of Islam in Jerusalem.”

One of the terrorists appearing in the last part of the video reportedly says “I am the living martyr by God’s will Abu Huthaifa al-Hathly from the Peninsula of Muhammad. We shall leave shortly to undergo a double martyr operation on the border of Egypt with occupied Palestine today Monday 28 Rajab 1433 coinciding with 18-06-2012.”

On Tuesday IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, toured the area of the infiltration and said IDF forces are dealing with the situation. „The more significant issue is what is happening inside Sinai, the dispatch areas, the terror bases that are expanding and growing there. Egypt must exercise its sovereignty in Sinai,” he said.

Israeli officials also believe al Qaeda and other „global jihad” elements have infiltrated the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, which lies between Israel and the Sinai. Hamas denies al Qaeda is operating in Gaza.

A Defense Ministry official said Israel will continue the work on the border fence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the fence to be completed by October 2012.

Terrorist attacks and activity originating in the Sinai Peninsula have been on the rise recently due to what Israeli officials believe is the current Egyptian government’s inability to maintain order in the area. Egypt is embroiled in an election process that has not enabled the country to maintain total control over the situation along the border with Israel.

As examples of ongoing terrorist activities in the area, on Aug. 18, 2011, a series of coordinated attacks launched from Sinai occurred near Eilat, leaving eight Israelis dead and more than 30 wounded.

A day later, suicide bomber attacked Egyptian troops stationed near the border with Israel, setting off intense battles with several other Palestinian terrorists in the area.

On Feb. 21, 2012, Israeli security forces thwarted a terror attack near the border, uncovering a large improvised explosive device near the Kerem Shalom border crossing. According to reports, Israeli troops discovered the powerful explosive during the course of a routine operation aimed at preventing border smuggling.