PA promises bloodshed if Trump recognizes Jerusalem as capital of Israel
PA on Trump's anticipated recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel:
PLO Chief Negotiator:
"By recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel"
the US is "pushing the region...
into the furnace of violence, chaos,
extremism, and bloodshed"
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Editorial in the official PA daily:
"If he [Trump]... illegally recognizes Jerusalem
as the occupation state's capital...
[it] will be the opening of the gates of hell in the region,
which will spread the terror in it
even more than the current situation"
By Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Anticipating US President Trump's announcement on American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, and the possible transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority and Fatah leaders and officials have stated that such an act is similar to a "declaration of war against the Palestinians," and that it will throw the whole region into "chaos" and "bloodshed."
The following is a collection of current statements made by Palestinian leaders:
In a phone interview on official PA TV, PLO chief negotiator and Secretary of the PLO Executive Committee Saeb Erekat explained what is in store if the US goes ahead with its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital:
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"If the US dictates the fate of Jerusalem before the negotiations on the matter - whether by transferring the embassy [to Jerusalem], or what is even more dangerous, by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel - this means the end of the entire peace process and the pushing of the region - with its peoples and borders - into the furnace of violence, chaos, extremism, and bloodshed."
[Official PA TV News, Dec. 2, 2017]
In a press statement, Erekat further warned that American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel "will create dangerous international anarchy... whose end will have dire consequences." [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 4, 2017]
Similarly, PA and Fatah Chairman Mahmoud Abbas warned that the move will "destroy the peace process and drag the region into more instability and extremism." [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 4, 2017]
An editorial by the official PA daily stated that "Jerusalem is a red line - and more than that." In a verbatim repeat of a threatening Fatah statement exposed by Palestinian Media Watch in January when Trump took office, the editorial also warned that Trump's embassy move will "open the gates of hell":
"US President Donald Trump will not achieve any deal to implement peace in the Middle East if he follows the path of the extremist Israeli right-wing and illegally recognizes Jerusalem as the occupation state's capital...
The only significance of destroying the chances for peace will be the opening of the gates of hell in the region, which will spread the terror in it even more than the current situation. This will not serve the interests of anyone, and particularly [not] the US."
[Editorial in the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 5, 2017]
The editorial went on to say that: "Under no circumstances is there a threat towards any side in this warning against the severe danger; this warning is simply a statement of human and cultural responsibility, a statement that the State of Palestine... thinks must be spread at this time." While the official paper is claiming the PA's predictions of violence are merely "a warning" and not a threat, PMW exposed in January that Fatah was already in the process of planning a terror campaign in the case of the embassy being transferred to Jerusalem, as a Fatah official let slip on official PA TV.
The Fatah cartoon above illustrates this visually. An arm with the end of a keffiyeh (Arab headdress) trailing along it comes down from above with a cleaver and chops off the hand of a Jew reaching towards the Dome of the Rock and leaving scratch marks on it with his long fingernails. The Jew is caricaturized by a large nose, the brim of a black hat, and a Star of David on his sleeve.
Posted text: "We will cut off any hand extended towards you with malicious intent
#Jerusalem_capital_of_Palestine
#HandsOffAlQuds"
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Dec. 5, 2017]
Similarly, Fatah promised violence in the post below showing a masked Palestinian armed with a machine gun next to the Dome of the Rock and the text:
"We are answering your call, Jerusalem
#HandsOffAlQuds"
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Dec. 5, 2017]
Another post encouraged Palestinians to seek "Martyrdom" in Jerusalem, using a well-known quote by Yasser Arafat:
Text on image: "Good morning
Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem"
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Dec. 6, 2017]
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PLO Executive Committee member Zakariya Al-Agha said that the American administration's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or transfer of its embassy to it is "a declaration of war against the Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nation." He emphasized that "our people will not sit by idly in light of this standpoint, which harms the Palestinian rights and principles." [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 5, 2017]
The PA Ministry of Education and Higher Education announced that on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, there would be "rage in all of its schools, as a sign of opposition to the American standpoint regarding Jerusalem." The ministry emphasized that "activities will be held in condemnation [of this standpoint], with the participation of students, the entire education community, and the national institutions in all of the schools in the homeland." [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 5, 2017]
The Fatah Movement's Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi "warned against the consequences," and said: "An American decision to transfer the US embassy will ignite the region and block all of the paths that lead to a political process." [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 4, 2017]
An op-ed in the official PA daily described Trump's move as having the effect of "a volcanic explosion that emits lava in every direction":
"For the thousandth time one can direct the attention of [US] President Donald Trump and the heads of his administration to the danger of transferring the American embassy to Jerusalem. A decision like this is no joke or [mere] tactical matter from the Palestinian point of view; it is a central and essential matter in the Palestinian national struggle. No Palestinian leader is able to relinquish Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Palestine. If the US wants to preserve its interests in the region, if it is concerned about Israel, and if it is interested in fighting terror - it must not consider a decision like this, because it would be like a volcanic explosion that emits lava in every direction."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 3, 2017]
A Fatah cartoon showed Trump signing the order to transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump is signing the order with the lit fuse of a stick of dynamite, with many additional sticks of dynamite next to him. Text: "Transferring the American embassy to occupied Jerusalem."
[Website of Fatah's Information and Culture Commission, Dec. 4, 2017]
An op-ed in the official PA daily expressed the same view:
"The US will find itself... as one who gives a green light to an additional wave of violence of unknown scope in Palestine and the neighboring Arab countries, and like one who justifies the crimes and barbarity of the terror organizations that harmed the US in September 16 years ago (i.e., the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks), the capitals of Europe, and many places in most of the world's countries, if it indeed decides to recognize Jerusalem - including East [Jerusalem] - as the capital of Israel, or transfers its embassy to [Jerusalem].
If the leaks to the press are correct, the American administration will be viewed as the one who leads the peace process to the gallows and ties the noose around its neck... and it will be recorded in history that it caused the crime of peace's execution."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 3, 2017]
Palestinians leaders have vowed that Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital will be "the end of the peace process," adding that the US alone will bear the responsibility of the resulting "dire consequences."
Supreme Shari'ah Judge and Mahmoud Abbas' advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash stated that "the entire world is liable to pay the price" if the US recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel:
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"Any change in the political reality in Jerusalem means that there will be no agreement at all and there will be no peace process. The Palestinian people, the Arab and Islamic nation, and we ourselves will not be obligated to anything. We will not be obligated to anything. The entire world, Allah forbid, is liable to pay the price for any foolishness, such as that which targets Jerusalem."
[Official PA TV News, Dec. 2, 2017]
The PA's Grand Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein echoed this:
"Sheikh Hussein emphasized: 'The attempt to transfer the American embassy to Jerusalem or to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation state is harming the religious and historical status of Jerusalem, and will destroy any attempt to achieve peace between the Palestinians and Arabs and the Israelis...'
He noted that 'Everyone will pay the price if Jerusalem is harmed by any reckless step, which will create a state of anarchy and instability in the region.'"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 4, 2017]
PA Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Abu Amr also warned the American Consul General Donald Blome as follows:
"[PA] Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Abu Amr conveyed an official message from the PA to the American administration... He noted that the transfer of the American embassy to Jerusalem or recognition by the American administration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is 'something unacceptable that encompasses dangers whose end will have dire consequences.' He warned that 'this would increase the tension and instability in the entire region.' Abu Amr emphasized: 'Any step in the direction of transferring the embassy or recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will meet with widespread protest within the Palestinian territories and in other parts of the Islamic world.' ...He held 'the American administration responsible for the grave consequences' such a decision would have."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 5, 2017]
The following are longer and additional excerpts of the statements above:
Excerpt of an editorial of the official PA daily
Headline: "Jerusalem is a red line - and more than that"
"US President Donald Trump will not achieve any deal to implement peace in the Middle East if he follows the path of the extremist Israeli right-wing and illegally recognizes Jerusalem as the occupation state's capital...
The only significance of destroying the chances for peace will be the opening of the gates of hell in the region, which will spread the terror in it even more than the current situation. This will not serve the interests of anyone, and particularly [not] the US. Under no circumstances is there a threat towards any side in this warning against the severe danger; this warning is simply a statement of human and cultural responsibility, a statement that the State of Palestine... thinks must be spread at this time, and be examined carefully with objective and responsible analysis before the incident occurs and before that whose end will have dire consequences takes place.
That whose end will have dire consequences is dangerous, very dangerous. Will the US understand this before it will be too late? It must understand this if it truly is interested in establishing peace in the Middle East, and certainly there is no peace in the Middle East other than the peace that Palestine hopes for... the peace of truth, justice, and dignity; the peace of tolerance and productive coexistence between the peoples and nations; the peace of Jerusalem, the capital of peace, with its authentic Palestinian identity and with its firmly established Arab identity, as it has been throughout history."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 5, 2017]
The main headline on the front page of the official PA daily, which appears without an accompanying article, and which is the same as the headline of the official PA daily's editorial in the same edition:
Front page headline: "Jerusalem is a red line - and more than that"
The headline is presented in red letters against the background of an image showing the Dome of the Rock and Jerusalem.
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 5, 2017]
Headline: "The PA to the American consul: Any negative decision regarding Jerusalem will release the [PA] leadership from any previous understandings with the American administration"
"The official contacts and proceedings to prevent a declaration by the US on transferring its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem or recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel continued on the Islamic, Arab, and Palestinian level.
Regarding this, the PA yesterday [Dec. 4, 2017] officially announced its opposition to any decision to transfer the American embassy to Jerusalem or recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. [PA] Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Abu Amr conveyed an official message from the PA to the American administration during his meeting yesterday in his office in Ramallah with American Consul General Donald Blome.
In an official statement, it was said that Abu Amr notified the American consul of 'the PA's objection to any step or decision the American administration takes to harm the status quo in Jerusalem.' He noted: 'If the American administration takes such a step, this will be considered a matter deserving condemnation, which contradicts the role of the American administration as a mediator and patron of the peace process. This will remove it from this role and close any opening for the continuation of a serious peace process.'
Abu Amr added that the transfer of the American embassy to Jerusalem or recognition by the American administration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is 'something unacceptable that encompasses dangers whose end will have dire consequences.' He warned that 'this would increase the tension and instability in the entire region.'
Abu Amr emphasized: 'Any step in the direction of transferring the embassy or recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will meet with widespread protest within the Palestinian territories and in other parts of the Islamic world.'
Abu Amr explained to the American consul that if his administration transfers the embassy to Jerusalem or recognizes [Jerusalem] as the capital [of Israel], this will release the Palestinian leadership from any previous understandings with the American administration. He held 'the American administration responsible for the grave consequences' such a decision would have."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 5, 2017]
"Fatah Movement Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi warned against the consequences of American recognition of occupied Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation state [Israel] or the transfer of the American embassy to it. Al-Qawasmi said: 'An American decision to transfer the US embassy will ignite the region and block all of the paths that lead to a political process.'
...
Secretary-General of the Palestinian Liberation Front [and PLO Executive Committee member] Wasel Abu Yusuf said that... 'We understand that the American administration is completely biased in favor of the occupation government, but if this matter reaches the point of this administration's declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation state, this would be a declaration of war against the Palestinian people, which clings to Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, and this would mean the end of the peace process.'"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 4, 2017]
Headline: "The [PA] president: Any American step connected to Jerusalem constitutes a threat to the future of the political process"
"Following contacts that he is making and efforts that he is investing in order to protect Jerusalem and the sites in it that are holy to Islam and Christianity, [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday [Dec. 3, 2017] sent many letters to world leaders... in which he urged them to intervene with the American administration so that it will not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The president emphasized that an American decision such as this will destroy the peace process and drag the region into more instability and extremism...
In a press statement yesterday, PLO [Executive Committee] Secretary, [Fatah Central Committee member, and PLO Chief Negotiator] Saeb Erekat warned that American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel 'will create dangerous international anarchy.'
Erekat said: 'If the US truly intends to make a decision and trample international law... it bears the political, legal, and moral responsibility for the end of the international system as we know it today, and for creating a situation of international anarchy whose end will have dire consequences.' ...
[PA] Minister of Foreign Affairs [and Expatriates] Riyad Al-Malki demanded to convene two unscheduled meetings, one of the Arab League and one of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Al-Malki said that taking this step [of transferring the US embassy to Jerusalem or recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital] 'will cause the US to lose its role in the peace process, and will mark it as biased in favor of the occupation state and its aspirations of expansion.'"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 4, 2017]
Headline: "Occupied Jerusalem yearns for those who love it"
"The dangers to which Jerusalem has been subjected lately are not hidden from anyone's eyes, especially [in light of] the news items that speak about US President Donald Trump's intention to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation state [Israel] and to transfer the American embassy to the holy city [of Jerusalem]...
[PA] Mufti of the Holy Lands, [Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council Chairman, and Deputy Secretary-General and acting Secretary-General of the PLO Popular National Conference of Jerusalem] Sheikh Muhammad Hussein said in response to this matter: 'Harming Jerusalem is liable to affect the entire Islamic world...'
Sheikh Hussein emphasized: 'The attempt to transfer the American embassy to Jerusalem or to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation state is harming the religious and historical status of Jerusalem, and will destroy any attempt to achieve peace between the Palestinians and Arabs and the Israelis...'
He noted that 'Everyone will pay the price if Jerusalem is harmed by any reckless step, which will create a state of anarchy and instability in the region.'"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 4, 2017]
Headline: "He warned against the danger of any American decision regarding the holy city [of Jerusalem] - the [PA] president is in contact with Arab and international bodies in order to defend Jerusalem and the holy sites"
"[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas has been in contact since last night [Dec. 2, 2017] with Arab and international bodies, including several world leaders. He briefed them on the dangers to which Jerusalem is subject, and what is required in order to defend the sites that are holy to Islam and Christianity.
In this context, the president spoke by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. During the conversation, the president asked Saudi Arabia to urgently intervene on account of the status that it enjoys on the Arab and international levels, in order to defend Jerusalem and the sites in it that are holy to Islam and Christianity, particularly in light of the news items in the media outlets regarding American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or the transfer of the American embassy to it. His Honor [Abbas] emphasized that if this happens, it will terminate the peace process.
The president also telephoned Jordanian King Abdullah II and briefed him on the dangers to which Jerusalem is subject...
In addition, the president spoke by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and briefed him on the situation in Jerusalem and the urgency of defending it and the sites that are holy to Islam and Christianity in light of the dangers that are encircling them...
Official [PA] Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said that President Abbas has held a series of important talks with several Arab leaders and several world leaders in order to warn about the reports on the transfer of the American embassy to occupied Jerusalem, or on [American] recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel (a matter which is serious to the same degree) [parentheses in source]...
Abu Rudeina added that the president explained to the [world] leaders... that it is necessary to act immediately in order to prevent the possibility that such a step will be taken. He said: 'We emphasize that if this American step is taken, it will put the region onto a new track and a dangerous stage, whose consequences will be uncontrollable.'
He said that the president will continue to make efforts in the coming hours and days to thwart this dangerous step. He also emphasized that if this decision is carried out it will be unacceptable, put an end to any prospect of the political process, destroy the efforts to enter a peace process, and heighten the tensions in the region, particularly in light of the changes and winds of war blowing in the region."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 3, 2017]
Official PA TV News, telephone interview with PLO Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat
Official PA TV Host: "How shall we understand the position of the US - the patron of the peace process between the Palestinian and Israeli sides - which fully favors the Israeli narrative and position regarding the transfer of the embassy, and [how shall we understand] the currently perceived threat to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel? Where is the peace process, and what is the Palestinian position [being conveyed] through you, Dr. Erekat?"
PLO Executive Committee Secretary, Fatah Central Committee member, and PLO Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat: "Yesterday [Dec. 1, 2017] the American administration received a written statement on [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas' order, which states that it will be meaningless for Palestine to be established without its capital being East Jerusalem with its Al-Aqsa Mosque and [Church of] the Holy Sepulchre. If the US dictates the fate of Jerusalem before the negotiations on the matter - whether by transferring the embassy [to Jerusalem], or what is even more dangerous, by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel - the significance of this will be the end of the entire peace process and the pushing of the region - with its peoples and borders - into the furnace of violence, chaos, extremism, and bloodshed. There is no interest [in this], the US has no connection to the matter; it has not happened in history that a state defined the capitals of other states."
[Official PA TV News, Dec. 2, 2017]
Headline: "Al-Habbash: The entire world is liable to pay the price if the reality changes in Jerusalem"
"[PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas'] advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, Supreme Shari'ah Judge of Palestine, [and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice] Mahmoud Al-Habbash said that these days there is much talk targeting Jerusalem, among them [reports] that the US wants to recognize it as the capital of Israel as a prelude to transferring the American embassy to it.
During a speech that he gave yesterday [Dec. 2, 2017] at a ceremony for the birthday of Prophet [Muhammad] at the [PA] presidential headquarters in Ramallah on behalf of President [Abbas] and in [Abbas'] presence, Al-Habbash added: 'The clear position of the president, the Palestinian people, the Arab nation, and the Islamic nation is that if this occurs, it means the total destruction of the peace process. We say this clearly - if any change takes place in the political reality of Jerusalem, the entire world will pay the price of this targeting and change.' He continued: 'Jerusalem is our capital, and we will not agree to anything else. Any other plan - it would be better that its developers keep it to themselves. This is not only our position; it is the position of the Arab and Islamic nation, led by our brothers in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan.'"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 3, 2017]
Official PA TV Newsreader: "In a speech on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas and in his presence, during a ceremony in the presidential headquarters in Ramallah for Prophet [Muhammad's] birth, it was emphasized that the [Palestinian] leadership won't be obligated to anything if the US recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."
Supreme Shari'ah Judge and Mahmoud Abbas' advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "Any change in the political reality in Jerusalem means that there will be no agreement at all and there will be no peace process. The Palestinian people, the Arab and Islamic nation, and we ourselves will not be obligated to anything. We will not be obligated to anything. The entire world, Allah forbid, is liable to pay the price for any foolishness, such as that which targets Jerusalem."
[Official PA TV News, Dec. 2, 2017]