PA Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmoud al-Habbash (Issam Rimawi/Flash90)

Mahmoud Al-Habbash, a senior official of the Palestinian Authority who encourages anti-Semitism and terror attacks against Israelis, was invited to address students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has invited Mahmoud Al-Habbash – Supreme Shari’ah Judge for the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Mahmoud Abbas’ adviser on Religious and Islamic Affairs – to debate Israeli Member of Knesset Ofer Shelah from the Yesh Atid Party next week, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported.

At the beginning of the current terror wave, for example, Al-Habbash preached anti-Semitism in a sermon broadcast on official PA TV, explaining that Jews represent “evil,” “falsehood,” “the devils” and “the satans” and that Israel is “Satan’s project.” The Palestinians, he said, constitute “the good” and “Allah’s project.”

State of Israel Unacceptable Within ‘Any Borders’

Al-Habbash on several occasions presented all of Israel as the “land of Ribat” and a “Waqf” – meaning all of Israel is Islamic land and an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law. He also stressed that this means that Palestinians are prohibited under Islamic law from accepting Israel’s existence in any borders, because they are prohibited from giving up Palestine – “even a millimeter of it.”

For comparison, Article 11 of the Hamas Charter says exactly the same: “The Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up.”

Speaking on official PA TV on Oct. 28, 2015, Al-Habbash included the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem as part of the “Islamic Waqf,” stating that it is “a property of the Muslims… an Islamic right… This property belongs to me and all Muslims.”

Murderers of Jews are ‘Honorable…Martyrs’

Al-Habbash has also defended the Palestinian murderers in the current terror wave, explaining that they are “more honorable than us.” He glorified them as “Martyrs” – “Shahids” – the highest honor a Muslim can achieve. During a similar upsurge in terror attacks in 2014, Al-Habbash specifically stated that the PA leadership supported the terrorists.

“Some accuse us of incitement against others. What incitement? Are we inciting? … If by incitement they are talking about our insistence on holding on to our principles, and our respect, honor, and appreciation for those more honorable than us, the Martyrs who fall for Palestine – if that is what they call incitement – we do not deny this, and are not ashamed of it, and we do not renounce it. Indeed – we cling to our right, our land, our holy sites, our Jerusalem and our Al-Aqsa Mosque… We adhere to our right to defend ourselves.” [Official PA TV, Dec. 11, 2015]

PA Leadership is Behind the Terrorists

“We are behind them in every movement, in every action and every deed,” Al-Habbash stated on Nov. 5.

“The leadership is with them,” he told Palestinian TV viewers on Nov. 5, 2014. “A few days ago, President [Mahmoud Abbas] greeted them, reinforced them and requested more ‘Ribat’ (defending Palestinian land) from them. This statement may have angered the Israelis and the occupation, that the President is inciting the Palestinians from Jerusalem to [perform] Ribat. Yes, we are inciting the people in Jerusalem to [perform] Ribat.”

Good vs. Evil

Addressing PA TV on Oct. 23, 2015, Al-Habbash told the viewers: “The conflict here in Palestine between us and the criminal occupation and its criminal leaders, is a further manifestation of our trials, a further manifestation of the historic conflict between truth and falsehood, between good and evil. Throughout history, there has been a conflict between good and evil. The good is represented by the prophets and their supporters. The evil is represented by the devils and their supporters, by the satans and their supporters. We are not inventing anything new here. This is a conflict between two entities, good and evil, between two projects: Allah’s project vs. Satan’s project, a project connected to Allah, which is his will – true and good – and a project connected to oppression and Satanism, to Satanism and animosity, occupation and barbarism.”

 

Source: Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik, Palestinian Media Watch