The Guardian newspaper initially featured the Osama bin Laden letter on its website in 2002 but was removed on 15 November 2023 after the videos gained widespread attention on social media.
A letter written by one of the most talked about and infamous terrorists Osama Bin Laden addressed to the United States has gone viral on social media due to its mention of the Israel and Palestine conflict. The Guardian news publication took down the letter from their website soon after the controversy started on social media.
According to the reports, the said letter by Laden justifies the 9/11 attacks and it also questions the US' support of Israel in their "occupation of Palestine".
Reportedly one of the lines in the letter read, "Palestine has been under occupation for decades, and none of your presidents talked about it until after September 11...”
Laden then concluded the letter which was named as "Letter to the American people" with "Palestine shall not be seen captive for we will try to break its shackles" and warns that the United States would "pay for its arrogance with the blood of Christians".
Against the context of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, the posts regarding the letter started garnering attention.
The Israel-Hamas war is now in its sixth week and was triggered by a wide-ranging Hamas attack into southern Israel on October 7 in which the militants killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and captured some 240 men, women and children. Israel responded with a weekslong air campaign and a ground invasion of northern Gaza, vowing to remove Hamas from power and crush its military capabilities.
Demonstrations calling for a ceasefire in Gaza have escalated following the extensive bombardment of the region and the tragic loss of thousands of lives, including children.
The Guardian newspaper initially featured the Osama bin Laden letter on its website in 2002 but was removed on 15 November 2023 after the videos gained widespread attention. However, this move proved counter-productive as pulling down the letter from The Guardian's website reportedly heightened interest in both Osama's letter and the accompanying social media videos and posts
The Guardian on their website currently posted, "This page previously displayed a document containing, in translation, the full text of Osama bin Laden’s “letter to the American people”, as reported in the Observer on Sunday 24 November 2002." The reason for the removal of the letter was not clarified by the publication.