Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has called upon Palestinian militant factions to shun mainstream politics and end the ceasefire with Israel, saying in a new video that jihad is the only way to bring about change in the Middle East.
In the clippings aired on Arab TV channel Al-Jazeera on Friday night, the Al-Qaeda terror network's No 2 urged the Islamic factions to rescind their decision to participate in the forthcoming Palestinian Legislative Council elections.
"Continue with jihad, do not give up your arms and do not be drawn into the electoral process," he said.
He said driving out "the invading crusader forces and Jews," a reference to US and Israel, "cannot be realised solely through demonstrations and speaking out in streets."
Wearing black and white robes and a white turban, the Egyptian further said, "We cannot imagine any reform while our countries are occupied by crusader forces which are spreading throughout our land."
Appearing before a plain background with a machine gun to his side, Zawahiri in three short clippings, exhorted Muslims to adopt the rule of Islamic law, end US and Western domination and manage their state of affairs independently.
He also denounced sexual assaults on women during anti-government protests last month in Egypt and criticised the Pakistani, Saudi and Egyptian governments, the newscaster said in what was an edited version of the tape.
In a major shift in their position in the post-Arafat era, most of the Palestinian militant factions, including Hamas, have announced their intention to participate in local elections which are now likely to be held in August.
