Lebanese Shari’ah Judge praises Fatah/Hamas riot and rocket war, says Arabs “not afraid of death, because Martyrs are in Paradise,” “Palestine” is “from the sea to the river”

Chairman of the Islamic Center for Research and Media in Lebanon Shari’ah Judge Sheikh Khaldoun Oraymet: “From the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River they are rising up, bombing, and striking the face of the Zionist snake with a rock from one of the lion cubs (i.e., young boys) of Palestine, or with a rocket, or with a cannon. What happened now in Palestine (i.e., violent Arab riots and Hamas rockets) after 73 years emphasizes that the Palestinian Arab people in all of Palestine, from the sea to the river, is one people that belongs to one nation. What is happening now in the land of Palestine… emphasizes that the Zionist enemy… will not succeed in realizing its goal. Now the Zionist entity is in distress. Despite the wounds and despite the Martyrs and the suffering, what happened in recent days has emphasized that Palestine, all of Palestine, is rising up against the Zionist enemy… This intifada with its rockets, its rocks, its Martyrs, its women, and its children has restored the Arab awakening anew… It may be that hundreds will fall as they fell in recent days, and perhaps Martyrs will fall, and perhaps millions will fall – but Jerusalem will not fall, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque will not fall, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre will not fall… Every Palestinian lion cub, every Palestinian youth, and every dark-skinned Palestinian young woman is throwing rocks at the face of the Zionist snake. We are not afraid of [becoming] Martyrs and not afraid of death, because our Martyrs are in Paradise and their Martyrs are in hellfire, Allah willing… The Martyrs of Palestine are bid farewell with sounds of joy and shots [in the air], and the young people of Palestine are competing over Martyrdom-death. But the soldiers of the Zionist enemy are afraid and they are shaking despite the weapons they have… This blood, these wounds and tears only give us more determination and perseverance in liberating Palestine – all of Palestine from the sea to the river. The Zionist enemy and its supporters must know that every Palestinian, every Arab, every Muslim, and every Christian is a time bomb against this Zionist occupation… Just as the Crusaders left the land of Palestine after 200 years, so too the Jews will leave in a hurry for Cyprus and Europe, like the European invaders before them who arrived in this pure land fled.”

Oraymet made this statement during the Fatah/Hamas Riot and Rocket War 2021 – On April 30, 2021, facing certain electoral defeat, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas cancelled the first PA elections scheduled in 15 years. Hamas, which expected to win the elections, denounced it as a “coup.” In need of a conflict to divert public discontent, Abbas artificially generated a crisis over Jerusalem. His Fatah party called for "raising the level of confrontation,” and Abbas' spokesman told Palestinians "the battle of all battles is here.” Jerusalem Arabs responded by attacking Jews with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Hamas, Abbas' political rival, could not allow Abbas to lead the battle, so on May 10, 2021, Hamas launched rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers including Jerusalem. Over the next 11 days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 4,300 rockets into southern and central Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing 9 Israelis and 3 foreign nationals, and wounding hundreds. In response, Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls to target Hamas terror leaders and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Already in mid-April, a planned eviction of some Palestinian families illegally living in Jewish-owned buildings in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem had led to clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli police. This dispute provided Palestinians with a pretext for violent rioting. Adding to the crisis, Israeli Arabs started rioting throughout Israel, especially in cities with a mixed Jewish and Arab population. Two Jews were murdered and many were wounded. According to Walla, an independent Israeli news site, 10 synagogues were wholly or partly burned down; fires were set in 112 Jewish homes and 1 Arab home mistaken for a Jewish home; 386 Jewish homes were plundered and 673 were damaged; 849 cars were set ablaze; and there were 5,018 rock-throwing attacks. In response, Jews started attacking Arabs and their properties as well, but on a much smaller scale. No mosques were burned; 13 Arab homes were damaged; 13 Arab-owned cars were burned; and there were 41 rock-throwing attacks by Jews. [Walla, May 16, 2021] The fighting between Israel and Hamas ended with a ceasefire on May 21, 2021.