By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums
U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating reports that al Qaeda-aligned groups played a key role in the deadly commando-style attack near the Israeli resort town of Eilat last week.
Israel's security agencies are stepping up targeted attacks throughout the world on Hamas' leadership in what one Israeli official called "intelligence-based prevention."
As Israeli and Palestinian negotiators prepare for the first direct negotiations since 2008, the Jewish state is braced for one of the most difficult diplomatic months in its history.
Israeli perspective
"There has been a history of close operational coordination between Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees and Jaish al Islam, which is the most important of the al Qaeda affiliates in the Gaza Strip," said Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations who now is the president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
Mr. Gold added, "These organizations all work together, and Sinai is a place where they all meet."
