Al-Qaida No. 2 condemns Annapolis talks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- An audio recording purportedly from al-Qaida's second in command condemned the Annapolis, Md., peace talks, calling the Palestinian leader a "traitor."

In the recording, released Friday by As-Sahab, the multimedia arm of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahiri criticized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and all conference participants, while assuring other Palestinians that the mujahedin wouldn't abandon them, SITE Intelligence Group Monitoring Service reported.

In his message, Zawahiri accused Abbas of being a "traitor," CNN reported.

"I'm stunned at the politicians' stance who gave up four-fifths of Palestine, granting Mahmoud Abbas the authority to negotiate ... and then they finally cried out warning and condemning the conference after they saw with their own eyes the disaster which ... (Abbas) is driving them to," Zawahiri said. "Is the traitor Mahmoud Abbas still the 'Brother President'?"

After the Annapolis conference, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said they agreed on a framework for a peace agreement. The leaders expressed optimism that they could reach the elusive agreement by 2009.

Zawahiri's speech urged dismissal of previous Israeli-Palestinian peace conferences and accords. Also, he called upon the Egyptian army not to support an effort to move Palestinians into an area in Gaza.