Skip to main content

Zawahri and Jerusalem

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in a new audio message following a classic pattern, lauds Palestinian attacks in Jerusalem and calls on followers to attack Israel's international backers to hasten the fall of the Jewish state.
A general view of Jerusalem's old city shows the Dome of the Rock in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, October 25, 2015. Palestinian officials reacted warily on Sunday to what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hailed as Jordan's "excellent suggestion" to calm Israeli-Palestinian violence by putting a sensitive Jerusalem holy site under constant video monitoring. REUTERS/Amir Cohen  - RTX1T4AE

In a new audio message, Ayman al-Zawahri, the Egyptian leader of al-Qaeda, has strongly endorsed the Palestinian attacks on Israelis with knives and called on Muslims everywhere to follow the Palestinian example, especially by attacking Americans at home. It's classic al-Qaeda strategy: Jump on a bandwagon you didn't start and ride it to garner support. It's been a winning formula for over a decade.

Zawahri issued a 16-minute audiotape from his hideout in Pakistan or Afghanistan over the weekend titled "Let us unite to liberate Jerusalem." He begins by lauding the series of attacks in Jerusalem, Hebron and elsewhere by individual Palestinians with knives on Jews, saying these martyrdom operations are a "new epic of jihad" that should be emulated by Muslims everywhere. The goal should be to wear down the Israeli economy by inducing fear among Israelis and visitors to Israel. Exhaustion is the objective.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.