PA: This is holy war, we’re carrying out “Jihad,” PA Chairman is “commander of the Jihad fighters”
- Abbas’ advisor: “Once [Israel] comes to an end, there will be no targeting of civilians or soldiers”
- The Palestinian struggle is “a religious cause and a cause of faith”
To its international donors, politicians, journalists, and others, the Palestinian Authority always maintains that the conflict with Israel is purely “territorial” and an “issue of land.”
But recent statements by PA Chairman Abbas’ advisor, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, in response to Hamas’ terror war on Israel shows – what Palestinian Media Watch has documented for years - that the PA, as well as Hamas, sees the conflict with Israel as a religious war – a holy war – Jihad for Israel’s destruction.
In a speech at the 8th International Fatwa Conference in Egypt, Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations and PA Supreme Shari’ah Judge Mahmoud Al-Habbash named Abbas “commander of the Jihad fighters.” He further stressed that the conflict with Israel is religious, stating that the Palestinian cause is not only “of land and borders” but also “a religious cause and a cause of faith”:
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “We will not leave Palestine. We will remain there as the olive tree remains… and they (i.e., the Israelis) will leave. They will leave… I bless you with a Palestinian blessing, a blessing of resolve and Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic)… a blessing of those preserving the ember of resolve, who adhere to the land… who are carrying out Jihad for it on the path of Allah, and standing with bare chests, with unshakable faith, and with complete confidence in Almighty Allah… [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the State of Palestine and commander of the Jihad fighters in Palestine, said on behalf of all the Palestiniansfrom the UN [General Assembly] podium: … ‘Whoever thinks that he can achieve peace without the Palestinian people’s rights is deluded’…
Palestine is not just a cause of land and borders and a political cause. Palestine is a religious cause and a cause of faith... Would we abandon the legacy of Allah’s Messenger [Muhammad]?"
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Oct. 18, 2023]
Al-Habbash posted the following text with his speech, stressing that his goal is the end of Israel, and that Israelis “will leave”:
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”
The official PA news agency also stressed that the conflict with Israel is religious in its report on Al-Habbash’s speech:
“Al-Habbash emphasized that ‘… we will not submit and will not wave a white flag. We will die standing upright and will not bow down, and we will not submit to the attacking andoppressing foreigners… We and our Arab nation will not agree to eliminating the Palestinian cause… as it is not just a cause of land, borders, and politics, but rather a cause of religion and faith. After all, it is the heritage of [Prophet] Muhammad.’”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Oct. 18, 2023]
Shortly after Hamas’ massacre in Israel, Al-Habbash asked mosque preachers all over the Arab and Islamic world to dedicate their sermons to talk about the Palestinians who are “carrying out Jihad” against Israel:
Posted text: “[PA] Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash sent letters to the ministers of religious affairs, muftis, religious councils, religious scholars, and mosque preachers in the Arab and Islamic world that called on them to dedicate the Friday sermon to knowing about Palestine, Jerusalem, and the genocide that ‘Israel’ is committing against our people.
The supreme Shari’ah judge said in his letter: ‘We turn to you from the holy land of Palestine and in proximity to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, where Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic), Jihad, resolve, and defiance are being carried out against the will of the occupation that is armed with death, colonialism, arrogance, and aggression that leave no man, stone, or tree in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. We send you thanks for your support for Palestine, its Jerusalem, its Al-Aqsa Mosque, its people that is carrying out Ribat, and its just cause, which is a cause of every Muslim man and woman.”
[PA Supreme Shari’ah Judge Mahmoud Al-Habbash,
Facebook page, Oct. 12, 2023]
Palestinian Media Watch has exposed other statements by Al-Habbash about his vision and hope for the end of Israel and his justification of Hamas’ massacre. Blaming Israel for being the root of all problems for “7 decades” – in other words since its creation in 1948 - he claimed that once all of Israel is gone, “there will be no targeting of civilians or soldiers” With these words he legitimized Hamas’ massacre on Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023:
PA Chairman Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “The basis of the problem is the existence of the occupation (i.e., Israel), which has been imposed for more than 7 decades on the Palestinian people… You cannot have peace, security, or stability as long as the occupation exists... The basis of the problem is the existence of the occupation. Once the occupation comes to an end, there will be no targeting of civilians or soldiers (i.e., refers to Hamas’ massacre on Israel). There will be no motivation to use weapons.”
Posted text: “[PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud] Al-Habbash to Al-Arabiya TV: As long as there is an occupation there will be no peace, and the Palestinian leadership is alongside its people”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Oct. 15, 2023]
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.
The following are longer excerpts of the statements cited above and additional statements by Abbas’ advisor:
Headline: “Al-Habbash before the 8th International Fatwa Conference: We will not leave Palestine; They are the ones who will leave. We will meet in Jerusalem”
“[PA] Supreme Shari’ah Judge and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Habbash said: ‘The Palestinian people will not leave Palestine. We will remain in it, and they (i.e., Israelis) will leave.’
Al-Habbash said this during the speech of the State of Palestine before the 8th International Fatwa Conference… in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, …with the participation of muftis, ministers of religious affairs, religious scholars, and clergy from more than 100 states worldwide…
The supreme Shari’ah judge added: ‘The Palestinian people’s children are currently being slaughtered (refers to Hamas’ terror war on Israel; see note below -Ed.), hospitals are being bombed by jets and missiles (refers to libel on Baptist Hospital bombing in Gaza City; see note below -Ed.), mosques have been destroyed, homes have been bombed, and mothers have become bereaved so that we will leave Palestine.This is what the occupation’s leaders have been saying since the first day of the aggression against the Palestinian people, that the Palestinian people must leave towards Egypt, because they want a land without a people for a people without a land, as they claim.’ He added that a double response has arrived, from Palestine and from Egypt, and with the support of the Arabs and Muslims: ‘We will not leave our land, and we firmly refuse to leave our homes,’ and this is what the residents of the Gaza Strip have said…
He noted that if they (i.e., Israelis) succeed – as they mistakenly thought – in removing 1 million people from the Gaza Strip to Egypt, it would not stop there, as the next step would be to empty the West Bank and Jerusalem in particular of their residents, so that they will please them and be empty for them.He emphasized that ‘This will not foreigners.’
Al-Habbash said: ‘Peace will not be achieved with a continuation of the occupation and the theft of the land and without Jerusalem. President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian people who speaks on behalf of all Palestine, said this a number of weeks ago before the world at the UN [General Assembly] podium, “Whoever thought that peace can be achieved without the Palestinian people’s rights is deluded.” We and our Arab nation will not agree to eliminating the Palestinian cause… as it is not just a cause of land, borders, and politics, but rather a cause of religion and faith. After all, it is the heritage of [Prophet] Muhammad.’”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Oct. 18, 2023]
Mahmoud Al-Habbash also serves as Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice.
Libel on Baptist Hospital Bombing in Gaza City, October 2023 - A failed rocket launch by Islamic Jihad terrorists fell short of Israel and hit the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 17, 2023, during Hamas’ terror war on Israel. The PA and Hamas rushed to libel Israel as being responsible for the bombing and claimed approximately 500 people had been killed, and global media outlets including Reuters and the BBC picked up the Palestinian libel without confirming it. Israel proved with video evidence, including from Al-Jazeera TV, that it was an errant Islamic Jihad rocket that fell on the hospital during a barrage of rocket fire. Israel further published audio recording of a phone conversation between two Hamas terrorists intercepted by Israel on Oct. 17, 2023, in which the terrorists discussed how an Islamic Jihad rocket caused the damage and the shrapnel was "local shrapnel" and not Israeli. Having seen the Israeli evidence, the US later confirmed the Israeli assessment that an Islamic Jihad rocket had caused the damage. A senior European intelligence source estimated that the true death count from the bombing was no more than 50 people.
Posted text: “[PA Supreme Shari’ah Judge Mahmoud] Al-Habbash called on the mosque preachers in the Arab and Islamic world to dedicate the Friday sermon to speak about Palestine, Jerusalem, and the genocide that ‘Israel’ is committing against our people (sic., refers to Israel’s response to Hamas’ terror war; see note below)
Ramallah – Oct. 12, 2023
[PA] Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash sent letters to the ministers of religious affairs, muftis, religious councils, religious scholars, and mosque preachers in the Arab and Islamic world that called on them to dedicate the Friday sermon to knowing about Palestine, Jerusalem, and the genocide that ‘Israel’ is committing against our people.
The supreme Shari’ah judge said in his letter: We turn to you from the holy land of Palestine and in proximity to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, where Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic), Jihad, resolve, and defiance are being carried out against the will of the occupation that is armed with death, colonialism, arrogance, and aggression that leave no man, stone, or tree in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. We send you thanks for your support for Palestine, its Jerusalem, its Al-Aqsa Mosque, its people that is carrying out Ribat, and its just cause, which is a cause of every Muslim man and woman.”
[PA Supreme Shari’ah Judge Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Oct. 12, 2023]