Bin Laden vows to keep fighting Israel

Osama bin Laden vowed yesterday in an audio tape to mark Israel's 60th anniversary to continue to fight the Jewish state and its allies in the West.

The Al Qaida leader, who has placed growing emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said it was at the heart of the Muslim battle with the West and an inspiration to the 19 bombers who carried out the attacks on US cities on Sept. 11, 2001.

"We will continue, God permitting, the fight against the Israelis and their allies ... and will not give up a single inch of Palestine as long as there is one true Muslim on earth," he said in the message, posted on an Islamist website on Friday.