Bin Laden Calls for Infiltration of Jordan to 'Liberate Al-Aksa'

Via Jerusalem Post -

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's latest audio message has targeted Jordan for the first time, calling on his supporters to infiltrate the country in order to "liberate al-Aksa," according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

Bin Laden released a 33-minute message on Islamist forums Saturday, outlining his plan, which also included "a mujahadeen victory in Iraq."

He declares it "a mandatory religious duty" for Muslims "to cut off [the] heads" of the leaders of nations bordering Israel, including Jordan, who have suppressed the mujahadeen.

Bin Laden added that a victory in Iraq would be the impetus for the Islamists to infiltrate Jordan, enter the West Bank, and from there "the rest of Palestine," according to a transcript of the message from the Washington-based MEMRI.

"This is the first time [al-Qaida] really pinpoints Jordan as the weak link to break through to Palestine," MEMRI's director of the Jihad and Terrorism Studies Project, Eli Alshech, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

"In the past few months, something has been going on in Jordan," Alshech said. "There have been indications of an increase in al-Qaida activities there; they are comfortable there. A strong country would not allow this."

Between the lines, said Alshech, "they're feeling pressure in Iraq. They're on the defensive and want to increase the mujahadeen presence to finish the fight."

Bin Laden called on Muslims to support the mujahadeen in Iraq, because he claimed "the West and its Arab allies are preventing the mujahadeen from coming to the aid of the Palestinians."

He included Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah in this avowal, charging that his agreement to UN Resolution 1701, which permitted international forces into south Lebanon, made him guilty of thwarting the mujahadeen duty of aiding Palestinians.