The suspect, 36-year-old Abdel-Rahman al-Eiteiwi, reportedly was detained by Israeli security forces after he entered the country through Jordan in 2005.

This development points to another potential conduit for jihadist infiltration into Israel and the Palestinian territories. In other words, not only are militants affiliated with al Qaeda's Egyptian and Iraqi nodes trying to break into this potential battleground, but those connected to the global jihadist network's Saudi branch are doing so as well.

Al-Eiteiwi, who is from the northwestern Tabuk region along the Saudi-Jordanian border, is being detained at Israel's Ramleh prison. He reportedly went on a hunger strike some two weeks ago, demanding to be repatriated to his country. After his health condition deteriorated and he was force-fed by prison officials, al-Eiteiwi was transferred to the jail's hospital.

The entry of al Qaeda-style jihadists into the Palestinian territories following the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has been cause for concern in the region, and both Israeli and Palestinian officials have acknowledged the presence of such militants who have entered the area from Egypt. At the same time, jihadist activity in Lebanon -- another potential point of vulnerability for Israeli security -- also is increasing. Furthermore, jihadists affiliated with the Iraqi branch of al Qaeda, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, not only have struck within Jordan but also have staged an attack against Israel from Jordan, which shares an extensive border with both Israel and the West Bank.

What is odd here, however, is that a Saudi jihadist gained entry into Israel via Jordan. It is unclear whether al-Eiteiwi was apprehended in Israel or the West Bank. This would be an important distinction because, if the latter, he could have been aiming to set up a local al Qaeda network. His apprehension in Israel proper, however, would suggest he intended to participate in an attack.

Although al Qaeda's Saudi branch is separate from its Iraqi wing, al-Zarqawi's group has stepped in to cooperate with al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula, which has been weakened by Riyadh's sustained counterterrorism initiative. Al-Zarqawi's efforts to catapult his profile to rival that of top al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri is another reason for his group's interest in the Saudi branch. Al-Eiteiwi's bid to enter Israel, therefore, could have been part of al-Zarqawi's plans to gain entry into the Israeli-Palestinian theater via the Saudi wing.

Al-Eiteiwi's home territory, the Saudi/Jordanian border area, also produced Khattab, the infamous Saudi commander and ally of jihadist leader Shamil Basayev in the North Caucasus, who was killed by Russian forces in Chechnya in 2002. Khattab fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s, participated in the Tajik civil war in the early 1990s, and then traveled to Chechnya to fight Russian forces there as well as in neighboring regions such as Dagestan.

Information on al-Eiteiwi and his jihadist activities is scant, as is the extent of the Saudi jihadist use of the corridor on the kingdom's border with Jordan to enter Israel and the West Bank. What is certain, however, is that the area's people support the idea of Saudis going off to foreign lands to fight what they perceive are enemies of Islam. Additionally, the porous nature of the borders facilitates such traffic from transnational militant Islamist nonstate actors.

Al Qaeda leaders have a long history of decrying the plight of the Palestinian people, citing it as a major element of their raison d'etre. The group, however, only recently has begun to attempt to put its money where its mouth is. It is quite possible that each of the three al Qaeda branches has received instructions from the movement's apex leadership, hiding out in northwestern Pakistan, that they need to focus on gaining a foothold into the Israeli-Palestinian region. If this is the case, then it would explain why each of the three nodes is pushing into the area. The move could be an attempt to garner support for their cause, to branch out and widen the jihadist frontier or to seek new sanctuaries.

Although the extent to which Saudi militants are using Jordan to cross into Israel is unknown, this case demonstrates that despite the losses the Saudi jihadists have suffered in the past 19 months, they remain a threat -- and are seeking greener pastures for their activities.