Bin Laden 'Pained' by Jerusalem Occupation

D U B A I , United Arab Emirates, Jan. 11, 2001 -- Suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden was shown on satellite television today reciting an ode to Jerusalem at his son's wedding, saying Israel's hold on the cityholy to Christians, Jews and Muslims was "burning him fromwithin."

Bin Laden was shown on Qatar's Al-Jazeera reciting the poem athis son's wedding in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. Thewedding was Tuesday.

"The wound of Jerusalem is making me boil. Its suffering ismaking me burn from within," an emotional bin Laden said duringthe ceremony.

Tensions Already Surround Jerusalem

The sovereignty of Jerusalem is one of the most explosive issuesbetween Palestinians and Israelis.

Bin Laden, a Saudi dissident believed to direct a globalterrorist network from his Afghan exile, has vowed in the past tofight the "enemies of Islam" — an apparent reference to theUnited States, Israel and the Saudi royal family.

Footage of the wedding was first shown by Al-Jazeera onWednesday, but that broadcast did not include the elder bin Ladenspeaking.

Today's broadcast showed the young groom, Mohammed, sittingon a carpet between his father and another man believed to be thebride's father, Abu Hafas al-Masri, an Egyptian aide to the elderbin Laden who fought with him in the 1980s against Soviet forces inAfghanistan. The bride was not shown and her name was not given.

There were reports last year that bin Laden, a millionaire, wassuffering from kidney and liver disease. In the footage he wassmiling and appeared healthy.

A Notorious Guest List

Bin Laden has been indicted by the United States for the 1998bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Days afterthe bombings, the United States fired dozens of Tomahawk cruisemissiles on eastern Afghanistan in an attempt to kill him.

Al-Jazeera reported Wednesday that wedding guests included Aymanel-Zawahiri, the leader of Egypt's Jihad, a militant group blamedfor the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.El-Zawahiri is one of Egypt's most wanted men and known to be aclose bin Laden aide.

The Taliban hard-line militia that rules Afghanistan has so farrefused to hand bin Laden over to the United States.

Last month, the United Nations imposed fresh sanctions on theTaliban to press demands that they hand over bin Laden for trial inthe United States or a third country.

In a separate Al-Jazeera interview broadcast today, Talibanleader Mullah Mohammed Omar brushed aside the effects of thesanctions, saying his group was impervious to pressure.