Israel accuses West Bank Palestinians of al-Qaida link

Israel linked West Bank Palestinians with the al-Qaida network for the first time today when a military court charged two youths with receiving funds from the jihad group to carry out a co-ordinated double bombing in Jerusalem.

The Palestinians, from the Balata refugee camp near Nablus, met with al-Qaida operatives in Jordan, arranged for secret email communication, opened a bank account and received 3,000 Jordanian dinars (€3,470) from al-Qaida to carry out the Jerusalem attack, according to the indictment, released yesterday.