Israel holds 'bin Laden terror protege'

A Palestinian man is being held by Israel on charges he was trained by Osama bin Laden and ordered to carry out large-scale attacks.

Nabil Oukal lived in the Gaza Strip refugee camp of Jebaliya, says an Israeli security official.

It is claimed Oukal was trained in Afghanistan and ordered to set up a local terror cell upon his return to the Gaza Strip.

Oukal was arrested in June 2000 at the Rafah border crossing between Israel and Gaza.

He was arraigned two months later in an Israeli military court, which does not make its rulings public.

The official would not say whether Oukal has been convicted or whether the trial is ongoing. Oukal remains in custody, the official says.

Oukal was asked to carry out large-scale attacks in Israel, such as planting bombs in apartment blocks, kidnapping Israeli soldiers and poisoning the water supply, according to the charge sheet.

A senior Palestinian security official says Oukal was arrested while en route to Jordan for medical treatment. He denies Oukal has any ties to bin Laden.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz says Oukal's involvement began in Pakistan when he met a Palestinian who called himself Abu Iyad Azam, an apparent assumed name.

Azam was a member of a group that assists bin Laden, the paper claims, and it was Azam who sent Oukal to Afghanistan for training.

Israeli officials believe Azam serves as a sort of head of the Palestinian desk in bin Laden's network, the paper reports.