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Journalism of Courage
Pan-Arab Al-Jazeera television broadcast what it described as excerpts from a new audio tape by Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader slammed Palestinian negotiations with Israel and urged holy war for the liberation of Palestine.
The audio, the second by bin Laden in as many days was the first time bin Laden spoke of the Palestinian question at length since the deteriorating situation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip where Israel imposed a siege in response to heavy rocket fire by Gaza militants.
In the broadcast on Thursday by the Doha, Qatar-based television, bin Laden said that “Palestine cannot be retaken by negotiations and dialogue, but with fire and iron.” Bin Laden also called on Palestinians who are unable to fight in the “land of Al-Quds” a Muslim reference to Jerusalem to join the al-Qaida fight and the holy war, or jihad, in Iraq.
“The nearest field of jihad today to support our people in Palestine is the Iraqi field,” said the voice reported to be bin Laden’s.
“We tell our brothers in Palestine who could not join the jihad in the land of Al-Quds, to get rid of illusions of political parties and groups which are mired in trickery of the blasphemous democracy and to take their positions among the ranks of the mujahideen in Iraq.” Such a Palestinian fight in Iraq should be “supported by all Muslims, specially from neighboring countries,” bin Laden added.
Al-Jazeera TV did not say how it obtained the recording, which was broadcast with an old photograph showing bin Laden in a white headscarf and traditional Arab dress.
