Abbas advisor reacts to terror attack on the Temple Mount: The occupation is a “cancer” and the reason for violence; Israeli policy will cause a “religious conflict”
Official PA TV program Inside, on the closure of the Temple Mount for two days after a terror attack was committed there on July 14, 2017, in which 2 Israelis were murdered, telephone interview with Supreme Shari’ah Judge, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash
Supreme Shari’ah Judge, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "The results do not come before the prelude, or before the reasons. A phenomenon has reasons. What happened yesterday [July 14, 2017] has reasons. The tension occurring throughout the region has reasons. The reason for all of the reasons for the tension and instability, and the lack of security and peace in Palestine, the entire region, and perhaps even in the world, is the presence of this occupation. This cancer that is spreading through the body of stability, security, and peace needs to disappear, be uprooted, and end. As long as they are talking about peace, stability, and coexistence, how can you ask me [the Palestinian] for peace, stability, and that we give you security, while you deprive me of my freedoms? You occupy my land and the sites that are holy to me. First, the occupation has to end. If we want to return things to the proper path, we need to go step by step in order to take care of the violence, the tension, and all of the phenomena we do not want to see. Their reasons must be prevented. And the most important reason for them is the occupation. Getting rid of the occupation is the basis. It does not need to be as if we are judging the results of the phenomenon [rather than] its reasons. We must start by taking care of the reasons so that the results will completely disappear… The violence, the resistance, the armed resistance - or the terror as Israel calls it – [did] it come because of the occupation, or did the occupation come because of it? In other words, which came first, the occupation or the resistance?"
Official PA TV host: "The occupation, naturally."
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "The occupation came before the resistance."
Host: "Yes."
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "In order for all of the resistance to end, you must end the occupation. [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu wants to drag us into his square. We must not forget this and must not be dragged onto Netanyahu's [playing] field. We must first and foremost not fall into the trap of these lies that Netanyahu is marketing. We must not allow anyone in the world to fall into their trap. Netanyahu wants to drag us onto his [playing] field, so that we will first condemn ourselves. Afterwards, if we condemn ourselves, that's it. It's over. Our demands are no longer justified. First Netanyahu must end the occupation. He must retreat [from the occupied territories], recognize the Palestinian people’s right, and recognize what the world has recognized - at least the two-state solution…
The end of the occupation is the only recipe for ending all of the phenomena of violence and tension, the instability, and the lack of security in this region and the world. The continuation of the Israeli actions – and I warn here as we have warned before – the continuation of this Israeli approach and Israeli policy is liable to transfer the conflict to the [playing] field of religious conflict. And then, everything will end, everything will explode. Then nobody will be able to stop the ball of fire that will begin if the conflict becomes religious."
Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Jabarin, Muhammad Hamed Abd Al-Latif Jabarin, and Muhammad Ahmad Mufaddal Jabarin - Israeli Arab terrorists aged 29, 19, and 19, who shot from the Temple Mount at Israeli policemen, murdering 2 Israeli Druze border policemen - Haiel Stawi and Kamil Shnaan, on July 14, 2017. Two of the terrorists were shot and killed by other policemen during the attack. The third terrorist was shot and killed while trying to flee.
Supreme Shari’ah Judge, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "The results do not come before the prelude, or before the reasons. A phenomenon has reasons. What happened yesterday [July 14, 2017] has reasons. The tension occurring throughout the region has reasons. The reason for all of the reasons for the tension and instability, and the lack of security and peace in Palestine, the entire region, and perhaps even in the world, is the presence of this occupation. This cancer that is spreading through the body of stability, security, and peace needs to disappear, be uprooted, and end. As long as they are talking about peace, stability, and coexistence, how can you ask me [the Palestinian] for peace, stability, and that we give you security, while you deprive me of my freedoms? You occupy my land and the sites that are holy to me. First, the occupation has to end. If we want to return things to the proper path, we need to go step by step in order to take care of the violence, the tension, and all of the phenomena we do not want to see. Their reasons must be prevented. And the most important reason for them is the occupation. Getting rid of the occupation is the basis. It does not need to be as if we are judging the results of the phenomenon [rather than] its reasons. We must start by taking care of the reasons so that the results will completely disappear… The violence, the resistance, the armed resistance - or the terror as Israel calls it – [did] it come because of the occupation, or did the occupation come because of it? In other words, which came first, the occupation or the resistance?"
Official PA TV host: "The occupation, naturally."
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "The occupation came before the resistance."
Host: "Yes."
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "In order for all of the resistance to end, you must end the occupation. [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu wants to drag us into his square. We must not forget this and must not be dragged onto Netanyahu's [playing] field. We must first and foremost not fall into the trap of these lies that Netanyahu is marketing. We must not allow anyone in the world to fall into their trap. Netanyahu wants to drag us onto his [playing] field, so that we will first condemn ourselves. Afterwards, if we condemn ourselves, that's it. It's over. Our demands are no longer justified. First Netanyahu must end the occupation. He must retreat [from the occupied territories], recognize the Palestinian people’s right, and recognize what the world has recognized - at least the two-state solution…
The end of the occupation is the only recipe for ending all of the phenomena of violence and tension, the instability, and the lack of security in this region and the world. The continuation of the Israeli actions – and I warn here as we have warned before – the continuation of this Israeli approach and Israeli policy is liable to transfer the conflict to the [playing] field of religious conflict. And then, everything will end, everything will explode. Then nobody will be able to stop the ball of fire that will begin if the conflict becomes religious."
Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Jabarin, Muhammad Hamed Abd Al-Latif Jabarin, and Muhammad Ahmad Mufaddal Jabarin - Israeli Arab terrorists aged 29, 19, and 19, who shot from the Temple Mount at Israeli policemen, murdering 2 Israeli Druze border policemen - Haiel Stawi and Kamil Shnaan, on July 14, 2017. Two of the terrorists were shot and killed by other policemen during the attack. The third terrorist was shot and killed while trying to flee.