Bin Laden vows jihad to liberate Palestinian land

DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden vowed that Islamist militants will expand their holy war to liberate Palestinian land and said his group will not recognize Israel.

The Saudi-born militant also criticized Iran-backed Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah for accepting the deployment of United Nations forces in south Lebanon after the Shi'ite group's war with the Jewish state in 2006.

He said in a recording posted on the Internet on Saturday that peacekeepers dispatched to expand a U.N. force in Lebanon after the war were there to "protect the Jews". Al Qaeda belongs to a school of Islam that sees Shi'ite Muslims as heretics.

(Reporting by Inal Ersan; Editing by Michael Winfrey)