Abbas’ advisor: Jerusalem is ours, the land curses them [Israelis] and rejects them, they have no right to it
Official PA TV, excerpt of sermon by Supreme Shari’ah Judge, Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash at the mosque in the PA headquarters in Ramallah; in audience: PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Secretary-General of the PA Presidential Office Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim, and Fatah Central Committee member and PLO Central Council member Jamal Muhaisen
Supreme Shari’ah Judge, Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "Is it possible that one of those who claim that they are determining the fates of peoples, and call themselves ‘superpowers’ or ‘the superpower’… – can they change the identity [of Jerusalem] that was determined by Allah (refers to US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; see note below –Ed.)? Can they deprive Jerusalem of a title that Allah determined for it? This cannot happen!
Do they [the Israelis] imagine that they can force us to recognize their alleged right to a land that every morning and evening curses them and rejects them? They can obtain legitimacy from the entire world, but not from us, not from us. [Only] we have the ability to grant legitimacy to whoever comes to Jerusalem and its surroundings, because we are its inheritors. We are its owners. We are its builders. We are its people, and we are the inheritors of the heritage of the prophets in it. Jerusalem is ours – sooner or later – with all its borders, landmarks, parts, and every grain of sand in it; including its Al-Aqsa Mosque, its churches, its roads, its homes, its land, and that which is under its land; and with its skies and that which is above them. It is ours and ours alone, and no one can share it with us, and we will not agree to this. It cannot be divided, and it cannot be split. It will only hand over its reins to one whom it loves, one to whom it belongs and who belongs to it. Jerusalem will be ours, sooner or later, and the Arabs, Muslims, and Christians are all our partners in defending it and protecting its blessing and honor. We ask Allah to protect it…
The Arabs, Muslims, and Christians are all required – and let them not say… it’s normalization with the occupation, no! If the president of the Palestinians and all the Palestinians behind him are saying so to the nation , then you must come to Jerusalem. I repeat what I’ve said here: Visiting Mecca is meritorious . Visiting Medina is meritorious . Visiting Mecca is a duty that must be done once in a lifetime, once, during the Hajj (i.e., Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca). Today, in the shadow of what Jerusalem is undergoing, I say to you, brothers, and to the whole world, all the Muslims, and all the Muslim clerics, that visiting Jerusalem today, today, is even more of a duty than visiting Mecca and Medina, except on the Hajj. It’s more of a duty, because it includes two matters – the merit of the visit, and the merit of Jihad and Ribat (i.e., religious conflict/war over land claimed to be Islamic) in Jerusalem and its surroundings.”
US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel - On Dec. 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and instructed the State Department to begin preparations to transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump added that the final borders of Jerusalem will be determined during negotiations.
Supreme Shari’ah Judge, Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "Is it possible that one of those who claim that they are determining the fates of peoples, and call themselves ‘superpowers’ or ‘the superpower’… – can they change the identity [of Jerusalem] that was determined by Allah (refers to US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; see note below –Ed.)? Can they deprive Jerusalem of a title that Allah determined for it? This cannot happen!
Do they [the Israelis] imagine that they can force us to recognize their alleged right to a land that every morning and evening curses them and rejects them? They can obtain legitimacy from the entire world, but not from us, not from us. [Only] we have the ability to grant legitimacy to whoever comes to Jerusalem and its surroundings, because we are its inheritors. We are its owners. We are its builders. We are its people, and we are the inheritors of the heritage of the prophets in it. Jerusalem is ours – sooner or later – with all its borders, landmarks, parts, and every grain of sand in it; including its Al-Aqsa Mosque, its churches, its roads, its homes, its land, and that which is under its land; and with its skies and that which is above them. It is ours and ours alone, and no one can share it with us, and we will not agree to this. It cannot be divided, and it cannot be split. It will only hand over its reins to one whom it loves, one to whom it belongs and who belongs to it. Jerusalem will be ours, sooner or later, and the Arabs, Muslims, and Christians are all our partners in defending it and protecting its blessing and honor. We ask Allah to protect it…
The Arabs, Muslims, and Christians are all required – and let them not say… it’s normalization with the occupation, no! If the president of the Palestinians and all the Palestinians behind him are saying so to the nation , then you must come to Jerusalem. I repeat what I’ve said here: Visiting Mecca is meritorious . Visiting Medina is meritorious . Visiting Mecca is a duty that must be done once in a lifetime, once, during the Hajj (i.e., Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca). Today, in the shadow of what Jerusalem is undergoing, I say to you, brothers, and to the whole world, all the Muslims, and all the Muslim clerics, that visiting Jerusalem today, today, is even more of a duty than visiting Mecca and Medina, except on the Hajj. It’s more of a duty, because it includes two matters – the merit of the visit, and the merit of Jihad and Ribat (i.e., religious conflict/war over land claimed to be Islamic) in Jerusalem and its surroundings.”
US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel - On Dec. 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and instructed the State Department to begin preparations to transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump added that the final borders of Jerusalem will be determined during negotiations.