Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called on Egyptians to protest what he termed President Mohamad Morsi's "normalization" of ties with Israel, AFP reported Friday.
In a 58-minute video summarized and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, Zawahiri called for mass demonstrations "against the Israeli embassy and against normalization and the peace treaty with Israel, and against the Israeli occupation of the land of Palestine, and against any concession and surrender to it, and against every siege in Gaza."
Zawahiri, who became the leader of al-Qaida shortly after Osama bin Laden was killed by US troops, also pressed the newly-elected Egyptian president to clarify his position on relations with the Palestinians and "the jihad to liberate Palestine."
Egypt brokered an informal ceasefire between Israel and Hamas earlier this week, after two days of intense violence that saw some eighty rockets and mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip into the western Negev.
Alongside his mediation efforts, Morsi reaffirmed his commitment to the Palestinian people and promised his support in their "struggle" against Israel. Speaking on state television to mark the Islamic Eid Al-Adha festival, Morsi said: "We will never accept any assault or siege on the Palestinians."
Even so, some have questioned Morsi's commitment to Hamas. Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said Thursday that "Egypt's actions against Hamas are much harsher [now] than they were under the previous regime."
In a separate video released on jihadi forums, Zawahiri called for Muslims to kidnap Westerners and urged the full implementation of Islamic Sharia law. "The battle isn't over, but it has started," Zawahiri said. "I call upon Muslims to capture citizens of the countries that wage wars against Muslims."
Zawahiri, who was bin Laden's lieutenant and the brains behind much of al-Qaida's strategy for many years, also directly challenged US President Barack Obama, calling him a "professional liar."
"Obama must admit he and his allies are standing in the defeated line, and that Osama bin Laden, may Allah have mercy on him, and the rest of the Mujahedeen and the Muslim Ummah are standing in the victorious line, whether anyone likes it or not," he said.
