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Alleged
Bin Laden Email Denounces Saudi Peace Initiative
LONDON,
March 28 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A London-based Arabic
daily newspaper, Al Quds Al Arabi, published an email it
claimed to have received from Osama bin Laden, Thursday, March 28,
denouncing Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz’s peace
initiative discussed in the Arab summit.
The
newspaper quoted Bin Laden’s apparent disapproval of the proposal
as he branded it “a betrayal” as it calls for normalization of
relations with Israel if it moves out of all occupied territories
since 1967.
He
suggested that leaders incapable of taking action due to pressures
or being terrorized should merely step aside for the bolder and more
capable powers that would not place the people in humiliating
positions. He also praised the martyr operations in Palestine.
Bin
Laden is the U.S. prime suspect in the September 11 attacks and has
been missing for several months.
The
email did not give any indications to his possible whereabouts and
the paper did not publish the email address.
Al
Quds Al Arabi’s editor-in-chief, Abdul Bari Atwan had met Bin
Laden in 1996. Atwan had previously disapproved the Saudi
initiative, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
Atwan
said "the wording and formulation of the message are typical of
bin Laden, which leads us to believe that the e-mail is
authentic" the AFP reported.
“He
wanted the publication of this message to coincide with the Arab
summit in Beirut and for that reason he sent it to a newspaper that
can publish it. I think Bin Laden is still alive and hiding
somewhere. No indication of the contrary has been shown to me,”
Atwan said.
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