Al-Zawahri criticises Egyptian and Palestinian leaders

Al-Qaida's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, has attacked the leaders of Egypt and the Palestinians, accusing them of betraying Islam and collaborating with the US and Israel, according to an Internet statement published in his name today.

Referring to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and a senior member of his Fatah party, al-Zawahri asks in the statement: "How is it possible for Mahmoud Abbas to be a brother of ours, or for Mohammed Dahlan to be a brother of ours, when they have grown fat on the bribes of the Jews and gifts of the Americans?"

The statement congratulates Islamic holy warriors around the world on the start of the feast of al-Adha and on what he calls "the defeat of the Americans and their crusader allies in Afghanistan and Iraq".

In the statement, al-Zawahri accuses the Egyptian, Saudi Arabian and Yemeni governments of serving the interests of the US, saying that Washington "bombs the Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq," and orders Arab leaders to pump their oil wells dry and sell crude petroleum "at the cheapest of rates to consume the nation's treasure".

The statement could not be authenticated, but it appeared on two Islamic websites known for publishing militant material.

It was not clear when the statement was written. The only date it gave was December 2006 and its equivalent in the Islamic calendar.

The statement made no mention of events of the past few days that have made headlines around the Arab world, such as the execution of Saddam Hussein on Saturday and the Ethiopian forces' entry into the Somali capital, Mogadishu, last week.

In fact, the statement appears not to know of the defeat of the Islamic militia, the Union of Islamic Courts, that was driven out of Mogadishu by the Ethiopians.

"I also congratulate my Muslim brothers in Somalia and encourage them to be firm in defence of the honour of Islam and Muslims in East Africa," said al-Zawahri.