New message 'from Osama bin Laden'
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A message claimed to be from Osama bin Laden has urged Muslims to help end Israel's closure of the Gaza Strip.
The call has been made on an audio tape posted on an Islamist website on Sunday.
The speaker, whose voice reportedly sounds like the al-Qaeda leader's earlier recordings, said it was the religious duty of every Muslim to fight Israel's 'oppressive closure' of Gaza.
In an earlier message, posted on Friday to mark Israel's 60th anniversary, bin Laden vowed to continue fighting the Jewish state and its allies in the West.
In a message on March 20, he called on Muslims to maintain the struggle against US forces in Iraq as a path toward 'liberating Palestine'.
Al-Qaeda has vowed attacks on Jews both inside and outside Israel and regularly expresses support for the Palestinians.
The Saudi-born militant leader was based in Afghanistan until its Taliban rule was overthrown by US-led forces in 2001.
Since then, US and Pakistani officials have said they believe he and his top aide Ayman al-Zawahri are hiding somewhere on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
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