Al-Zawahri criticises moderate Muslims

Osama bin Laden’s deputy has accused moderate Arab leaders of being traitors for co-operating with the US and its allies in an audiotaped greeting marking the most important Islamic holiday.

Al-Qaida’s number two Ayman al-Zawahri wished the Palestinian people a happy Eid al-Adha, but attacked Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement, saying: “They cannot be brothers to the Muslims, but they are their enemies.”

“Those who had sold Palestine, the secular traitors, cannot be your brothers. Do not recognise their legitimacy … and don’t sit with them … and do not sign with them the documents that will make you lose Palestine,” said al-Zawahri in the 15-minute tape posted on a website commonly used by Islamic militants.