Osama bin Laden wants jihad over Gaza - websites

The tape was dated in the current Islamic month. (Getty Images)

Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden called for jihad (holy struggle) over the Israeli offensive in Gaza in a new audio tape that appeared on Islamist websites on Wednesday.

The Saudi-born militant said the global financial crisis had exposed the waning U.S. influence in world affairs and would in turn weaken its ally Israel.

"Our brothers in Palestine, you have suffered a lot.... the Muslims sympathise with you in what they see and hear. We, the mujahideen, sympathise with you also..." bin Laden said in the tape entitled 'A Call for Jihad to Stop the Aggression against Gaza'.

"We are with you and we will not let you down. Our fate is tied to yours in fighting the Crusader-Zionist coalition, in fighting until victory or martyrdom."

The Palestinian death toll from a 19-day-old Israeli offensive to crush the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza has risen to 971, causing widespread anger among ordinary Arabs and Muslims. Israel says 13 Israelis have been killed by rockets or mortars from Gaza.

In the 22-minute tape, bin Laden said that the United States was losing its dominant position in the world and that this was due to al Qaeda's campaign.

"The jihad of your sons against the Crusader-Zionist coalition is one of the key reasons for these destructive effects among our enemies," bin Laden said in the tape that was dated in the current Islamic month.

"God has bestowed us with the patience to continue the path of jihad for another seven years, and seven and seven... The question is, can America continue its war with us for several more decades to come? Reports and evidence would suggest otherwise."

The authenticity of the tape, produced by al Qaeda's media arm As-Sahab, could not immediately be verified but the voice sounded like that of bin Laden.

Bin Laden last appeared in an audio tape in May and also focused on Gaza, calling on Muslims to try to help end the blockade of the area.

The al Qaeda leader has placed growing emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent years and Wednesday's audio tape was accompanied by a still of bin Laden and a picture of al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's third holiest shrine.

Behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on U.S. cities, al Qaeda has regularly called for attacks on the Jewish state.

Al Qaeda is widely blamed for a suicide attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya and a simultaneous failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli charter jet near Mombasa airport in 2002.

Following is a timeline of major statements attributed to bin Laden in the last two years:

Sept. 7, 2007 - Bin Laden appears in his first videotape for nearly three years, to mark the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. In a message to the American people, bin Laden says the United States is vulnerable despite its economic and military power.

Nov. 29 - Bin Laden urges European countries in an audiotape to end their alliance with U.S. forces in the Afghan conflict.

March 19, 2008 - Bin Laden threatens the European Union in an audio recording with grave punishment over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

March 20, 2008 - Bin Laden urges Muslims to keep up the struggle against U.S. forces in Iraq as a path to "liberating Palestine".

May 16, 2008 - Bin Laden, in a new audio tape, urges the fight against Israel to continue and says the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the heart of the Muslim battle with the West. The speech was addressed to "Western peoples".

May 18, 2008 - Bin Laden urges Muslims to break the Israeli-led blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and fight Arab governments that deal with the Jewish state in an audio tape posted on the Internet.

Jan. 14, 2009 - Bin Laden, in a new audio tape, calls for a new jihad over Gaza and says the global financial crisis has exposed waning U.S. influence in world affairs and that it will in turn weaken its ally Israel. (Reuters)

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READERS' COMMENTS

America, again?
Posted by Doug, Dubai on Wednesday 14 January 2009 at 16:35 UAE time


Well, it's hardly a surprise. One question though - so what if America isn't doing anything? It's not as if it's American troops on the ground and frankly it's not even clear that American weapons are being used either. It's Israel doing this, not America. So why is it that it's apparently impossible to solve this situation without America? Why is it that the Ummah is simply sitting back and texting money to Gaza while simultaneously blaming America and expecting America to sort it out? This is an ARAB problem, so maybe the Arab leadership should try fixing it.

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