Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden released a new audio statement that coincides with Israel’s 60th anniversary, CNN reports. It appears that bin Laden stated that his loyalists would continue the “holy war” against Israel and its allies until it liberates Palestine. The audio message is entitled “The Causes of Conflict on the 60th Anniversary of the State of Israeli Occupation” and runs 9 minutes and 40 seconds. Bin Laden’s tape said that “liberating” Palestine should be the aim of Muslims, terrorism analyst Laura Mansfield told CNN. “The participation of Western leaders with the Jews in this celebration confirms that the West supports this ugly Jewish occupation of our lands and that they stand in the Israelis’ trench against us,” Bin Laden said in the message, quoted by AFP. “We will continue the fight against the Israelis and their allies... and we will not give up one inch of Palestine, God willing, as long as there is one sincere Muslim on this earth,” he added. The audio tape, posted on a website used by Islamist militants, came as U.S. President George W. Bush took part in celebrations of Israel’s 60th anniversary. “Jihad [holy war] is a duty to liberate Palestine,” bin Laden concluded. In his last message on March 20, bin Laden urged Muslims to continue the fight against U.S. forces in Iraq. The Al-Qaeda chief, who has taken credit for the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S, blamed Arab leaders of backing Israeli assaults on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
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