An Egyptian newspaper reported this week that several European members of an Al Qaeda cell recently busted in Egypt received training and financing from Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

The Europeans - three Belgians, a man from France and another from the UK - stand accused, along with seven Arab Al Qaeda members, of planning to attack Israeli targets in Egypt and monitoring Israeli traffic through the Suez Canal.

Egyptian authorities involved in the investigation told Cairo's Al-Masri Al-Youm daily newspaper that they had discovered shocking evidence of the massive degree of Al Qaeda activity in both Gaza and Egypt.

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas for years denied that Al Qaeda was active in Gaza, but the territory's Hamas rulers never hid their affinity for Osama bin Laden's group and its accomplishments.