Palestinian terrorists have received a vote of support from Al Qaeda, with the global jihadist group's Somali branch celebrating a recent series of attacks and calling for more both in Israel and elsewhere.
Somalia's Al Shabaab terrorist group called on Muslims to attack Jews in order to "retake Al Aqsa Mosque," and in solidarity with the wave of Arab-Muslim terrorism sweeping Israel.
In a communique distributed in Arabic and English, the jihadist terror group - which is an official branch of Al Qaeda - echoed comments against Jewish visits to the Temple Mount by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, saying it had "watched with heavy hearts how the grandsons of monkeys and pigs [Jews] stormed into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, desecrating its pure corridors with their filth and transgressing against our Muslim families..."
Palestinian and Islamist leaders often refer to Jewish visits to the Temple Mount - the holiest site in Judaism - in terms of "storming the Al Aqsa Mosque," despite the fact that Jewish groups never enter the mosque, and have no interest in doing so.
"The issue of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the occupied Muslim lands in the vicinity of Bait al-Maqdis [the full Arabic term for Temple Mount, ironically taken from the Hebrew original "Beit Hamikdash" - ed.] is an issue concerning the entire Umma [Muslim "nation"]," the statement continued, urging Muslims of all "nationality and ethnicity" to "target the interests of Jews in every place," using "all means available."
Al Shabaab called on potential terrorists to "emulate" the series of terrorist attacks which have taken place in Israel over the past several weeks to "defend Al-Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Zionist Jews."
The Somali Al Qaeda franchise emphasized that in its view "armed jihad" was the only legitimate course of action against Israel, but added that "Jews everywhere" were also legitimate targets.
"Know that the blood and wealth of every Jew on the face of this earth today is permissible and there is no protection for his blood or wealth" unless they convert to Islam or accept third-class dhimmi status, it continued, adding that this applied "whether he carried a weapon or not."
The communique ends by "applauding" Palestinian terrorists who carried out the recent spate of attacks, and with a message of support for jihadists in Syria following the onset of a Russian bombing campaign in support of dictator Bashar al-Assad.