Bin Laden: 'Iron and fire' will end Gaza blockade

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden called on Palestinians to use "iron and fire" to end the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and liberate their country, in what Al Jazeera described as a new audio recording.

"My speech is about the Gaza siege and the way to retrieve it and the rest of Palestine from the hands of the Zionist enemy," bin Laden said.

"Our enemies did not take it [Palestine] by negotiations and dialogue but with fire and iron. And this is the way to get it back," bin Laden said in the tape.

He also urged Muslims to keep up the struggle against U.S. occupation forces in Iraq as a way of "liberating Palestine."

"The nearest field of jihad today to support our people in Palestine is the Iraqi field," bin Laden said.

"We tell our brothers in Palestine who could not join the jihad in the land of Al-Quds [Jerusalem], to get rid of illusions of political parties and groups which are mired in trickery of the blasphemous democracy and to take their positions among the ranks of the mujahideen in Iraq," he said.

"Such a Palestinian fight in Iraq should be concentrated on and supported by all Muslims, especially from neighboring countries," bin Laden added.

He also called on the people of Syria, Lebanon Jordan and Saudi Arabia to help in support of their mujahideen brothers in Iraq.

If yesterday's recording proves to be that of bin Laden, it will be the second audio tape released by the Al-Qaida leader in as many days. Al Jazeera did not say how it obtained the recording.

Earlier yesterday, Italian security officials said they were treating bin Laden's new accusations against Pope Benedict's involvement in a campaign against Islam as a serious threat, the Ansa news agency reported, quoting a source at the interior ministry.