The Islamic resistance movement Hamas on Tuesday denied any link to a Palestinian from Gaza who was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment by an Israeli court for membership in al Qaida. An Israeli military tribunal in the Gaza Strip found Nabil Abu Ukal, 29, guilty on Monday of having received training from al Qaida in Afghanistan as well as in Kashmir north of India. The court said Ukal, from Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, trained in the camps run by Osama bin Laden and was sent to the Palestinian territories in 2000 to set up al Qaida cells. A plea bargain led to his conviction on several offenses, including participation in military training overseas and conspiracy to commit armed attacks in the Palestinian territories. The military prosecutor asserted Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin paid thousands of dollars towards Abu Ukal’s training, in which he learned to prepare bombs and planned to kidnap an Israeli soldier, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman reported. Full Story