Al-Qaeda leader: Jerusalem embassy move proves US is Muslims’ enemy

To mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, a terror group leader demanded renewed holy war against America’s presence across the globe.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

Marking the 17th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the leader of al-Qaeda has called on Muslims to wage war against the United States throughout the world.

In a 30-minute speech released Tuesday, Ayman al-Zawahri went to great lengths to portray the United States as a religious enemy of Muslims, using Washington’s transfer of its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as evidence of that enmity.

The Washington-based SITE group, which monitors media material by militants across the world, released an English transcript of the speech.

“America (is) the number one enemy of Muslims … despite of its professed secularism,” al-Zawahri said in the video. He listed 14 directives to fight the United States, including an appeal for Muslim unity and jihadists close ranks.

Speaking in Jerusalem at a memorial several days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman commented that the US and Israel share the “same values” and “tragedies,” drawing parallels between Americans and Israelis who have experienced terror attacks.