PA Mufti reiterates religious prohibitions against cooperating with Trump peace deal or selling land to Israelis, land is “Islamic waqf”
Headline: “A conference in Salfit titled The Deal of the Century and Giving Lands to the Enemy From a Religious Perspective”
“The Salfit district held a conference yesterday [March 5, 2020] at the district headquarters titled The Deal of the Century and Giving Lands to the Enemy From a Religious Perspective (i.e., “the deal of the century” refers to US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan; see note below),in the presence of [Salfit] District Governor Dr. Abdallah Kmeil and the [PA] Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories [and Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council Chairman] Sheikh Muhammad Hussein…
The grand mufti read a statement that he issued last month [February], which includesa fatwa(religious ruling) that bans working to cooperate with the deal of the century and its disseminators who will be pursued by a curse until Judgment Day,in his words. Regarding the sale of lands and giving them to the enemy, Sheikh Hussein said that it is forbidden to sell lands to the occupation or to facilitate the processes of this purchase through mediators and the like, since this land is an Islamic waqf (i.e., an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law) and the property of the [Islamic] nation, and therefore it is forbidden to transfer it to the enemy because this will lead to the eviction of the Muslims from their land. He explained that whoever sells [land] and of whom this is proven – it is forbidden to deal with him in buying or selling, and if he dies, he will not be purified and will not be buried in the Muslims’ cemeteries.”
Muhammad Hussein also serves as Deputy Secretary-General and acting Secretary-General of the PLO Popular National Conference of Jerusalem.
The Trump peace plan – US President Donald Trump announced his Israel–Palestinian peace plan "Peace to Prosperity" – commonly known as “the deal of the century” - on Jan. 28, 2020. Main points of the plan: 1- Israeli sovereignty would be applied to the Jordan Valley and all Israeli towns and cities in the West Bank. 2- Jerusalem, including all its holy sites, would remain under Israeli sovereignty with accommodations made to enable access for Palestinians. 3- The remainder of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and part of what is currently Israeli land in the Negev, the Galilee, and Jerusalem - creating a territory almost equal in size to the West Bank and Gaza Strip - would form the Palestinian state, with its capital in neighborhoods in East Jerusalem that are outside of Israel's security wall. 4- The Palestinian state would be demilitarized, with Israel responsible for external security and controlling all airspace. 5- All Palestinian prisoners except murderers, and those who attempted or conspired to murder would be released. 6- Palestinians in refugee camps would be absorbed into their host countries and, subject to certain limitations, into the Palestinian state. 7- Before becoming a state, the Palestinians would have to carry out extensive reform of their laws and institutions, including implementing a new governing system; granting its people due process and basic human rights and freedoms; end all incitement to and incentivizing of terror; end all glorification of terror and martyrdom; disarm Hamas; and adopt a culture promoting peace. The goal of the plan is to create a Palestinian state beside Israel, living in peace and security. The implementation would be facilitated through extensive international investment.