INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri's last public message was issued in February
(file photo)
Al Qaeda leader Ayman
al-Zawahri, speaking in a recording released on Sunday, the eve of plans by the United States to move its embassy to Jerusalem, said that
Tel Aviv was also Muslim land.The United States has finalised preparations to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a ceremony
scheduled for Monday.President Donald Trump, who in December reversed decades of U.S
policy by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, has sent his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner -- both White House
advisers -- as part of a delegation to the ceremony.Trump's decision on the embassy has enraged Palestinians, who want Arab East Jerusalem,
captured in the 1967 Middle East war, to be the capital of their own future state
The status of the city - home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions - is one of the biggest obstacles to reaching a
peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.Trump says he is making good on U.S
legislation and presidential pledges dating back decades.In his four-minute and 43 second message, Zawahri said all Muslim countries have
effectively recognised Israel by signing the United Nations charter which calls for respecting the territorial integrity of every member
state, including Israel."Many have even established public or secret relations with Israel and accepted that Tel Aviv or West Jerusalem be
the capital of Israel, even though it is also Muslim land that cannot be ceded to Jews," Zawahri said in the recording posted on a social
media channel used by the Islamist militant group.The authenticity of the recording could not immediately be verified.Zawahri's last public
message was issued in February, when he called on Egyptians to topple their government ahead of presidential elections in March that gave
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi a second term in office.© Thomson Reuters 2018(This story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff
and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)For the latest Election Results Live Updates from Karnataka log on to
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