Abbas’ advisor repeats: Duty of Gazan civilians is to stay at home as human shields
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “From the first day of their (i.e., the Israelis’) aggression, they have said that the Palestinian people- that the residents of the Gaza Strip must go towards Egypt (i.e., leave the combat zone). That is the goal. They want a land without a people for a people without a land…We said: We will not go, and we will not leave our land. ‘And we completely refuse to leave our homes,’ said the Gaza residents. When they (i.e., Israel) dropped fliers on them calling on them to leave, they told them: ‘[Even] if you kill us, rip us to shreds, drown us in our blood, [even] if you kill me, rip me to shreds, drown me in my blood; you will not live on my land! You will not fly in my skies!’”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Oct. 18, 2023]
Al-Habbash made these statements at the 8th International Fatwa Conference in Egypt, October 2023
Al-Habbash’s last quote - “[Even] if you kill us…” - is from a poem by Marwan Hadid a radical leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria in the 1960s and 1970s.
Posted text: “[PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud] Al-Habbash before the 8th International Fatwa Conference in Egypt: We will not leave Palestine, they (i.e., Israelis) are the ones who will leave, and we will meet in Jerusalem”
Hamas war on Israel October 2023 - At least 1,200 Israelis, including over 1,000 civilians, were murdered and over 4,800 wounded, in addition to approximately 244 who were abducted into the Gaza Strip (including 110 later released or liberated and at least 26 later killed), in a Hamas terror war that began when approximately 3,000 Hamas terrorists broke through Israel's security fence at the Gaza Strip border and launched a surprise attack, taking control of several Israeli towns and attacking a music festival on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, which fell on the Sabbath, Oct. 7, 2023. During the massacre the terrorists tortured, raped, shot, beheaded, and burned their victims alive, murdering entire families and leaving at least 21 children without parents. Hamas terrorists also fired at least 5,000 rockets at Israeli population centers. In response, Israel launched Operation Iron Swords to counter the Hamas terror threat. Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon joined Hamas' terror war starting from the following day, attacking Israel from the north. Occasional rocket launches and shootings continued from Lebanon throughout the war. A ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal began on Nov. 24, 2023, in which Israel agreed to release 150 terrorist prisoners, pause drone surveillance in the Gaza Strip, and allow movement between the northern and southern Gaza Strip, in return for 50 Israeli female and child hostages held by Hamas. The deal was subsequently extended with additional releases, until Hamas violated the agreement and resumed attacking on Dec. 1, 2023.