Owner of Laden’s former home to consider selling it to him

JERUSALEM - The current owner of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s former house in Jerusalem has said he will consider selling it to him if he makes an offer, Xinhua reported Monday.

“This is a historic house, and to this day I have not talked about it with anybody,” current owner Mu’in Khoury told the Yediot Ahronot Hebrew daily.

He said: “If Osama makes me an offer, I will be willing to consider it,” but it will not be sold to anyone else.

“Bin Laden’s father came from Saudi Arabia in the 1940s, bought the house, and lived in it from time to time,” Khoury said, adding :”Osama also spent time there on several occasions in the 1960s”.

Since then, however, the property has changed hands many times. It also served as the Spanish consul’s office.

Khoury is the latest in the line of owners of the house in Shuafat neighbourhood, which has become a well-known landmark after 9/11 attacks in the US.