Above: Most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden has just released a new message to the world. He vows that al-Qaeda will continue its war against Israel and its Western allies until it liberates Palestine. He also said the fight for Palestinian freedom was the most important driving force behind al-Qaeda’s war against the West; he said that it fuelled the September 11 attacks. The speech is entitled “The Reasons for the Struggle on the 60th Anniversary of the Creation of the Occupation State of Israel.”

“To Western nations … this speech is to understand the core reason of the war between our civilization and your civilizations. I mean the Palestinian cause,” said Osama bin Laden. “The Palestinian cause is the major issue for my (Islamic) nation. It was an important element in fuelling me from the beginning and the 19 others with a great motive to fight for those subjected to injustice and the oppressed,” he added.

“We shall continue the fight, Allah willing, against the Israelis and their allies, in order to pursue justice for the oppressed, and we shall not give up one inch of Palestine, as long as there is still a single true Muslim alive.”

The message was posted on a website forum commonly used by the terrorist group – El Ekhlas – you can search for the site and have it translated so you can view an intro that states: To the peoples of Western, now a new letter of Lion of Islam Sheikh / Abi Abdullah – Osama bin Laden – may God protect him. the picture above is actually a screen shot of the page where the message was posted.

The message lasted for 9 minutes and 40 seconds. The authenticity of the message is yet to be verified. United States monitoring group IntelCenter (a private contractor who has been monitoring al-Qaeda message traffic) said the audio message was posted together with a photo of Osama bin Laden wearing a white robe and turban. It cannot be determined when the photo was taken. IntelCenter said that the message was expected and its arrival was already announced by the al-Qaeda media arm as-Sahab.

He also added that international media has been used to create false stories about “the Jewish invaders, the occupiers of our land, as the victims while it portrayed us as the terrorists.”

“Sixty years ago, the Israeli state didn’t exist. Instead, it was established on the land of Palestine raped by force,” the terrorist leader said. “Israelis are occupying invaders whom we should fight.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel was not very happy with the new message saying: “We do not pay attention to the words of this terrorist lunatic. The time has come for him to be apprehended and pay for his crimes.”

It was a timely release. United States President George W. Bush just finished his Israel visit – to which many Palestinians were disappointed. Many of them felt that the Bush government biased towards Israel. The Palestinians marked this 60th anniversary of Israel’s creation with demonstrations and solemn ceremonies – very much in contrast to Israel’s joyous celebrations. Palestinians refer to it in Arabic as “nakba” or catastrophe.

The last message sent by Osama bin Laden was about two months ago, when he urged Muslims to support the recent Iraqi insurgency – saying that it was the best way to show support for Palestine and its people. He also condemned Arab leaders who were supporting Israel’s fight against Hamas and its attacks on Gaza.

Despite a worldwide massive manhunt and a $25 million bounty, Osama bin Laden remains free – free to command his al-Qaeda troops and free taunt his enemies through audio and video warnings issued via the internet.

“Therefore one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful. Seizing the enemy without fighting is the most skillful.” –The Art of War by Sun Tzu