Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command of the international al Qaeda terrorist organization, called for attacks on Jews and Americans in a speech broadcast on the al-Qaeda as-Sahab news network Sunday.

In his “Rush to Support Our People in Gaza” speech Zawahiri exhorted Muslims around the world to “monitor the targets, collect the money, bring the equipment, plan accurately and then – while depending on Allah – storm, seeking martyrdom and paradise.”

Islamist terrorists believe murderers who die slaughtering others become martyrs who then marry 72 “dark-eyed virgins” in paradise.

The speech was broadcast on the same day US Vice President Dick Cheney was breakfasting with Israeli officials, lunching with Palestinian Authority and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and dining later in the evening with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and others in the defense establishment.

While Cheney was warning Abbas that attacks on Israel from Gaza were eroding the chances for a final status agreement and an independent PA state within Israel’s current borders, Zawahiri was telling Islamic extremists to attack Jews and Americans.

“Muslims, today is your day. Strike the interests of the Jews, the Americans and all of those who participated in the attack on the Muslims,” he said. “No one can say today that we should fight the Jews in Palestine only.”

Zawahiri also slammed Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, accusing Arab leaders with ties to Israel and/or the United States of participating in “a Satanic alliance.”

Last Week’s al-Qaeda Speech: ‘Free Palestine’ with ‘Fire and Iron’

It was the second such speech from al Qaeda in less than a week. Last Thursday, in a videotape broadcast on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Purim, al Qaeda’s founder and top terrorist, Osama bin Laden, called for a holy war against Israel.

In his address, bin Laden ordered the PA to stop negotiations with Israel, warning the only way to “free Palestine” would be through “fire and iron.”  The arch-terrorist also vowed to increase his group’s efforts to “free Palestine, all of Palestine, from the Jordan to the sea.”

Israeli defense officials have warned a number of times that al Qaeda operatives have infiltrated Gaza since its takeover by the Hamas terror group last June and are active in local terror cells.

The speeches were carried on the pan-Arab Aljazeera TV network, which has been under a semi-official boycott from the Israeli government for its slanted, pro-Hamas coverage.

Al-Qaeda Failed in Attack on US Embassy in Yemen

According to a report by the Yemenite state-run al-Thawra daily newspaper, an al-Qaeda cell was responsible for last week’s mortar attack on the US embassy in Sana’a, Yemen. The report quoted an unnamed police source who said one of the terrorists who carried out the attack was Hamza al-Dhaiani.

The terrorist allegedly fired three mortar rounds at the embassy from a pickup truck. The shells missed the target and instead struck the courtyard of a girls’ school located next door.

One Yemenite guard at the embassy was killed and three others,  along with 13 girls at the school, were injured in the attack.