Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, urged Palestinians to reject elections and wage Islamic holy war to ``liberate Palestine,'' warning that attempts to form a national unity government will fail.

``Any road other than jihad will only lead to loss and failure,'' al-Zawahiri said in a videotaped message broadcast today on the Qatar-based al-Jazeera television channel.

``Anyone trying to liberate the land of Islam through elections based on secular constitutions or on decisions to surrender Palestine to the Jews will not free a grain of sand,'' he said.

Clashes raged this week between fighters loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party and Hamas, the Islamic movement that won control of the government after January's elections. Abbas called for the next elections to be held early to halt the crisis, prompting Hamas to accuse him of attempting a coup.

The two parties have fought over control of the Palestinian Authority since Hamas's election victory gave it control of the prime minister's office and Cabinet. Abbas retained the presidency. Talks between the two sides on forming a national unity government have been deadlocked.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robin Stringer in London at rstringer@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 20, 2006 04:46 EST