Bin Laden Calls on Egyptians To Overthrow Mubarak, Lift Gaza Blockade
Al Qaeda's leader Osama bin Laden called on Egyptians to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak and lift the blockade imposed on Gaza in an audio statement posted on the Internet today and focused on criticizing Arab countries for not supporting Palestine.
This is bin Laden's second statement in three days. His last statement, released Friday, also centered on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The 22-minute tape was released by al Qaeda's media wing al Sahab and is entitled "To the Muslim Nation…A Message from Sheikh Osama bin Laden – May God Protect Him." It opens with an old still picture of bin Laden in front of a pink backdrop showing a picture of al Aqsa Mosque.
Bin Laden insists that nothing exempts Muslims from the responsibility to come to the rescue of Palestinians and calls on Egyptians to be the first to act. "Those on whom rests the duty of lifting that siege are our brothers the knights of the land of the Kenanah (Egypt) for they are the only ones who have a border with Gaza…they should work on ending that siege and throw out that merciless tyrant .. the assassin of Gaza's children."
In the new statement, bin Laden argues that "the only way to get back Palestine" is by fighting the governments and parties surrounding Israel. "There is no other way but jihad to liberate Palestine and al Aqsa and restore the caliphate, God willing."
He insists that Israel is much weaker than it seems and blames the "traitor" Arab rulers for Palestine being under its control. Bin Laden says there has not been one serious attempt to liberate Palestine through a war. "I assure you…the Zionist state would not stand one tenth of what the mujahideen have done while fighting the Russians in Afghanistan, and would not stand a tenth of what the mujahideen have done today to strike against America and its allies in Iraq."
Al Qaeda leader lashes out at the supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, claiming they're not eager to serve Islam as they say they are. He warns that Muslims should not be fooled by them.
Bin Laden also attacks world leaders for participating in the event, as he has done in his previous statement. "The Jews' celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Zionist state on the lands of Palestine, in the presence of world leaders, clearly shows that the values of justice, freedom and humanity are nothing but empty slogans used to deceive the oppressed." He also talks about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role played by Britain.
This is bin Laden's 27th statement since the Sept. 11th attacks, including four videos and 23 audio messages.