Osama a strong believer in Jihad
Photo: Reuters
Osama speaks out again: The only way to reclaim Palestine is through force, al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden said in an audiotape published by the al-Jazeera network Thursday evening.
According to the al-Qaeda leader, "Jihad, rather then negotiations, is the only way to put an end to the Palestinian suffering, which has lasted for 100 years now."
"Palestine cannot be retaken by negotiations and dialogue, but with fire and iron," Bin Laden said in the tape. "Our enemies did not take over Palestinian through negotiations, but rather, by force."
Al-Qaeda
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Bin Laden added that "the siege imposed on Gaza is one of the results of the Annapolis Conference."
"This siege in fact started after Arab states supported Israel and the United States in their struggle against the Mujahideen," Bin Laden said. "Palestine would not be returned to its owners through negotiations managed by these submissive figures and it will be reclaimed neither through elections nor via conferences."
'Support Jihad in Iraq'
Turning his attention eastward, Bin Laden said that "Iraq is the Jihad theater that would lead to the liberation of Palestine. The Jihad in Iraq should be supported in order to liberate Palestine."
In an earlier tape released by Bin Laden, he threatened the European Union with "grave punishment" over the republishing of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons. The message was released on the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq and the threats voiced in it targeted EU leaders and Pope Benedict XVI.
Ali Waked and AP contributed to the report