Bin Laden tape calls for holy war in Gaza
Israeli forces launched artillery fire into south Lebanon and went deeper into Gaza.
By David Montero | Correspondent 01.14.09
Osama bin Laden has apparently issued a new audio recording urging his followers to launch a holy war to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which entered a 19th day Wednesday.
The Times (of London) reports that the recording, which could not immediately be verified as authentic, was posted on Islamist websites.
“God has bestowed us with the patience to continue the path of jihad for another seven years, and seven and seven years,” bin Laden said on the tape dated in the current Islamic month. “The question is, can America continue its war with us for several more decades to come? Reports and evidence would suggest otherwise.”
Bin Laden last appeared in an audio tape in May and also focused on Gaza, calling on Muslims to try to help to end the blockade of the area. The al-Qaeda leader has placed growing emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent years.
The conflict that incited Mr. bin Laden’s message deepened and widened on Wednesday as Israeli forces prepared to storm Gaza City while also firing rockets into Lebanon in response to an earlier attack.
England’s Guardian newspaper reports that Israeli troops reached the outskirts of Gaza City.
There was heavy fighting in northern Gaza and around the edges of Gaza City, from where Israeli troops have mounted raids to within a mile of the city centre….
Israel’s military said it hit 60 sites overnight, including the police headquarters in Gaza City that had been hit on the first day of the operation, as well as rocket launching sites, weapons stores and 35 smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt. Six Israeli soldiers were injured.
But it remains unclear if Israeli forces will launch an all-out attack on Gaza City, according to the BBC.
Analysts say Israel may be holding back from all-out urban warfare in Gaza City.
Intense street fighting could complicate truce efforts and cause heavy casualties on both sides, which they say would be a politically risky move less than a month before Israel’s parliamentary election.
Israel began its offensive Dec. 27 in retaliation for rockets fired into Israel by Palestinian militants in Gaza. Since the fighting began, a series of new fronts seems to have opened up. The Associated Press reports that Israeli troops have shelled south Lebanon.
Israeli forces fired artillery north into Lebanon on Wednesday in response to a rocket attack, and Lebanese troops dismantled more rockets that were set to be fired, Lebanese security officials said.
The exchange was the second since Israel launched an offensive in Gaza against Hamas on its southern flank on Dec. 27 and threatens to ignite a new front in the north.
Israeli forces fear the attack was instigated by the military wing of Hezbollah, a political organization in Lebanon. But Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the attack, according to Haaretz, an English-language daily in Tel Aviv.
Israeli officials have expressed concern that militants in Lebanon could try to open a second front in the Gaza campaign in solidarity with Hamas.
A Hezbollah minister in Lebanon’s Cabinet denied any involvement by the militant group in the firing of the rockets on Thursday. In 2006, Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon fired almost 4000 rockets at Israel during the Second Lebanon War.
Agence France-Presse reports that the Palestinian death toll from the conflict has risen to at least 940, “including 280 Palestinian children.”
A further 4,350 people have been wounded, according to the Palestinian emergency services.
On the Israeli side, 10 soldiers and three civilians have been killed in combat or by rocket attacks since the Jewish state began its offensive.
As fighting mounts, Israel’s government is divided over how to proceed, reports Haaretz.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak is promoting a week-long “humanitarian cease-fire” in the Gaza Strip. In contrast, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert believes the military operation still has not achieved its goals.
Olmert is delaying a meeting with senior ministers in an effort to allow the military operations in Gaza to continue.
On Tuesday, Olmert did not meet with his “troika” - Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, both of whom support a cease-fire. On Wednesday, he will not convene the political-security cabinet to discuss whether the operations should go on.
International criticism has mounted, according to Agence France-Presse.
The offensive — Israel’s deadliest ever against Gaza — has sparked withering criticism and protests and concern about a humanitarian crisis breaking out in the densely populated territory where half of the population is under 18 years of age.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon is due in Cairo to bolster efforts at a cease-fire, reports Britain’s Telegraph newspaper.
Mr Ban said he plans to step up diplomatic efforts to get both sides to adhere to a UN cease-fire resolution calling for an end to Israel’s air and ground offensive in Gaza and Hamas’ rocketing of southern Israel.
“To both sides, I say: Just stop, now,” he said. “Too many people have died. There has been too much civilian suffering. Too many people, Israelis and Palestinians, live in daily fear of their lives.”
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Comments
2. Mike | 01.14.09
As soon as the terrorists stop shelling Israel, Israel can stop shelling Gaza. This is not rocket science. The terrorists are responsible for all the deaths in Gaza and Israel. They may have excuses and “reasons” but in the final analysis if you shell someone they are justified in shelling back.
3. dean hillstay | 01.14.09
Love the misleading title, way to confuse the readers into thinking Israel is launching an unprovoked attack into Lebannon
Keep up your propaganda war on Israel, CSM, it is working.
4. Robby | 01.14.09
Let us launch a war against Bin Laden and his evil tribes.
let’s destroy Hamas terrorism, and lets support Israel.
5. Eric S | 01.14.09
Bin Laden is dead. Ever since the last video was seen as an obvious fake, now all we will get is audio. The CIA needs to go away.
6. Clarence Whittier | 01.14.09
Time to rethink the special interest called the “Media” that bombards us with slanted news about other cultures in the middle east that is not unwilling to accept our sel-proclaimed righteousness. It has cost us billions and is leaving much of America in fear and in poverty! The establishment of colonization (Israel) decision by a few in U.S. and England is sucking us of morality and driving us to expensive military solutions that will never work!
7. feudi | 01.14.09
Sounds to me like bin Laden is sending a very special mesage to action to his minions. Why else would he use such terms as “seven, and seven and seven years”? Beware.
8. Deborah Ira | 01.14.09
I agree with President George W. Bush, Isreal has every right to defend itself. If you attack Isreal, you ask for whatever they give you in return. May righteousness be on their side always. God bless Isreal and give them peace.
9. Chris | 01.14.09
Stop now lol. How can people still be so naive to think its that easy? Stop now simply means more skirmishes on the borders until this happens again. The only option for Israel is to kill or be killed. Pretty easy choice.
11. Ben Zona | 01.14.09
Bin Laden should be ashamed asking other Muslims to “wage an Holy war” while he is hiding like a Sand Rat in a cave somehwere.
No war can be won by a hiding rat-like leader.
Moderate and Peace-loving Muslims (where are they??) should ignore Bin laden and seek peaceful solutions.
Great leaders are public figures , not rats!
12. Bernadette | 01.14.09
How can any war be holy…holy implies peace not unrest. Holy is sacred. I believe Bin Laden has his terminology confused rather it is the opposite of holy being sinful, irreligious, cursed. There is no way one can be holy and at war. If we all see the one God we all are united in knowing the answers would be immense. But for some reason we use the word holy to define a war and leave God out of it. Interesting.
13. JD LeaSure | 01.14.09
I don’t understand why The USA can’t find Osama bin Laden and send him to meet his maker!
14. FS | 01.14.09
“To both sides, I say: Just stop, now,” he said. “Too many people have died. There has been too much civilian suffering. Too many people, Israelis and Palestinians, live in daily fear of their lives.”
And if they did just stop, how long would it be before Hamas or some other faction would again send rockets into Israel to kill unarmed civilians and children there? Where was the international criticism when that was happening? Where was the outcry when the rockets rained on Israel repeatedly?
Leaders, UN, politicos, & press we see right through you.
15. Edward Casto | 01.14.09
This is a major travesty. Israel will suffer for killing innocent civilians in this all-out attack on the Gaza Strip. Surely with Israel’s technology they could have figured out some other way of handling Hamas firing rockets at Israeli settlements without killing civilians. Remember the 5th commandment: Thou Shalt Not Kill!!!!! Shame shame Israel….
16. Syed Azmathullah | 01.14.09
Now that Israel has surpassed the Nazis by sending out a female head months ahead to Moscow, Cairo and other places to prepare world leaders for the genocide she was planning to conduct, the putrid mentality of the Zionists and depraved presidents such as Bush, and all the historic imposition of Zionist land occupation scheme in Palestine and snatching territory from the undefended and unprotected helpless Palestinians, the bestial crimes of the West become more and more clear to the world at large as the exterminations and slaughters of children and women go on, just for the foul earth which the evil races want, the same earth that will bury their bones, detested, rotten and rejected by all fair thinking minds I wonder whether this technically advancing world is actually going to a logical end of the Black Hole.
17. Jimmy | 01.14.09
If Hamas never fired rockets in the first place, Israel wouldn’t be making a laughing stock of them in front of the entire world
18. CVal | 01.14.09
There is no such thing as journalism anymore, just propaganda. In one breath, the truth is revealed that no one can verify that the message is from the mysterious and elusive jackal of 9-11,but it is attributed to him without any concern for truthful verification. What crap. Who do they think they’re fooling with this tripe? Oh, most of the American people. My bad.
19. dalynia | 01.14.09
The extremist muslims should learn and except the fact that you cannot forcibly impose and dictate your religon and ideals on other nations.We live our democratic lives out of our own free choice.You cannot prod and provoke your neighbour continously without a response.The result is tragic and devastating death,destruction and suffering.Hamas and Hezbollah MUST STOP HATING the Isreali’s and other nations and think of your people’s well being and not of yourself.You run around with guns and armaments costing millions of dollars and yet your people have no food ,jobs,basics infrastructure.Poverty prevails,i strongly condemn and rebuke your socalled Arab brothers, the CHINESE ,IRANIANS AND RUSSIANS for supplying Gaza and the Arab countries with the wrong needs.Look and study their human rights records and you will certainly know where they come from and where they going to.
20. DSpeak | 01.14.09
I think Israel has ensured that current and future generations of youth - not spoon fed Israel’s holocaust story - will see the nation for exactly hat it is. The holocaust story wil be drowned out by Israel’s own murdereous killing of so many innocent civilians.
21. Al Frankfurter | 01.14.09
Various peace initiatives have been tried. Here is an untried one. It’s based on the children’s game ” I can see you” - take 3 steps forward …
A missile from “Gaza” , Israel receives x amount of territory, yards from Gaza / WEst Bank. A building built on Palestine territory, Israel looses x amount of territory.
The idea is based on flexible “positive and negative” reenforcement. Something like that could be managed internationally ( eventually on maps) .
Peace must and should be the goal. Boarders must be that of the 1948 UN division with the exception of Jerusalem. For Jerusalem there has to be taken another workable approach, example, open city, but there are several. There is no better time then now to declare the two State existence .
22. Abarafi | 01.14.09
So, what else is new? Bin Laden doesn’t need to ask for jihad, it’s been going on relentlessly since before 1948. And the Iranian fatwah against trade with Israel is a joke compared to the boycott by the Arab League for decades. It doesn’t have to be so complicated. If Hamas had not been rocketing Israel, Israel would have had no reason to try and put a stop to it. If Hamas had been intent on improving the life of Gazans instead of trying to harass Israelis, the borders would have been opened. How hypocritical is it for the world to expect Israel to stop protecting its citizens from rocket attacks without calling upon Hamas to stop provoking Israel? We all know what started this. The protest signs say “free Gaza.” Israel left Gaza seven years ago. If there were terrorists in Tijuana shooting rockets into San Diego, would the US keep the border open? Would it not retaliate? Why the double standard? And when the UN’s Brockmann (according to al Jazeera) calls it “genocide,” how disproportionate is that? Genocide, Mr. Brockmann, is what people with last names like Brockmann did to Europe’s Jews during WWII. I don’t see death camps, round ups, and transports. Do you? No wonder Israelis distrust the goodwill of the UN. They have seen none since 1947.
23. Billye Porter | 01.14.09
Excellent coverage and reporting.!! Many thanks for your wonderful service.
24. Dorothy Delo | 01.14.09
Someday the civilized world will require all the muslim terrorists to STOP terrorizing little Israel. It has been going on all my life. I am beyond tired of all the Arab bullies. Look at a map, - huge swarths of “Arab” lands surrounding a tiny civilized non-arab country. I could actually visit Israel and drive and NOT be covered in a stupid tent. Any country that doesn’t have complete civil rights for women, including mandatory free education, should only have 1/2 a vote in the United Nations anyway, only 1/2 their population is represented, and should be on a list of uncivilized places. Enough. Russia never gave back Kiralia. France never gave back the Allsace. I don’t think little Israel should give back one inch of land from the 1967 War and all the thugs should be moved to other Arab lands and that’s an end to it.
25. lightnin | 01.14.09
Bin Ladin has been dead for years. It is valuable to the political goals of Al Qaida, Al Zawarhiri (in particular), Iran AND the West (and the press, of course) to maintain the charade that he is alive, so they do.
26. Jody McAllister | 01.14.09
David Montero reports: “Israel began its offensive Dec. 27 in retaliation for rockets fired into Israel by Palestinian militants in Gaza.”
But what he fails to mention is that the rocket attacks were a direct response to an Israeli raid inside the Gaza strip on November 4, where 6 Hamas members were killed. A good, honest journalist would mention this extremely important fact. It was Israel that clearly broke the fragile ceasefire agreement which started last June.
27. CR | 01.14.09
‘BEEN’-Laden, heh heh. Osama’s been dead for some time.
Wake up from your slumber.
28. marco zonka | 01.14.09
Dear CS Monitor, There is no evidence whatsoever to verfy the authenticity of the recent audio recording that is said to be the voice of Osama bin Laden. Referring to the conflict in Gaza as “The conflict that incited Mr. bin Laden’s message” indicates that CSM considers it legitamate, and not, as it should be stated: the comment that is allegedly attributed to Osama bin Laden, for which we are waiting on some scientific or other proof.
That Dick Cheney would be so quick to “authenticate” it’s veracity by commenting on it as if it is real, only throws it’s questionable legitamacy into futher doubt. Or perhaps one could say: the endorsement by Cheny only proves it’s falsehood. Two days before her assasination, Benazir Bhutto was interviewed by David Frost. In that interview, she referred to the threats upon her life from “Omar Sheik,the man who murdered Osama bin Laden” as if it were common knowledge. Frost ignored the comment, as has the whole world up until now. Will CSM continue this charade? Please bring your highest level of investigation and reportage to the question of the veracity of the tapes and films allegedly produced by Osama bin Laden over the last few years, to and see what can be truely verified or denied. Sincerely Marco Zonka 360 301 3833 marco@zonka.org
29. kola abiona | 01.15.09
this war must not extend till next week tuesday when obama will step on the throne..he should be thet father of the world now and the whole world needs to clebrate him in peace
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1. jim | 01.14.09
The genocide done by israel must stop.