Abbas’ advisor on religious affairs calls US Ambassador David Friedman a “terrorist settler,” says he is “disparaging” Islam
“Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash called on the Arab and Islamic governments, organizations, and peoples to respond to US Ambassador to the occupation state [Israel] David Friedman’s disparaging of the Islamic faith.
Al-Habbash said in a statement that Friedman’s appearance next to a large picture of the Jerusalem sanctuary (i.e., the Temple Mount), where the Dome of the Rock is removed from it and a picture of the alleged Temple is inserted in its place, is a provocative step that constitutes a racist insinuation and criminal incitement for the destruction of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (Friedman has clarified he was unaware of the image that was presented to him and called it unacceptable; see note below –Ed.)…
He [Al-Habbash] said: ‘The removal of the sites that are holy to Islam in Jerusalem is a racist goal of the extremists and the extreme right-wing that rules in the occupation state. The awaited goal of these criminals, and among them settler terrorist David Friedman, is to make the Palestinians disappear from Jerusalem and cause them to migrate from it’…
Al-Habbash said: ‘We expect a historic Arab and Islamic response to this racist provocation by the American ambassador. We must not agree to less than an explicit apology from him personally and from the American administration, his final return [to the US], the cancelation of the American decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the closing of the American settlement that was inaugurated in Jerusalem and falsely called an ‘embassy.’”
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman was photographed on May 22, 2018, being presented with a doctored aerial photograph of Jerusalem in which the Third Temple is seen in place of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. The US embassy later said Friedman "was not aware of the image thrust in front of him when the photo was taken. He was deeply disappointed that anyone would take advantage of his visit to Bnei Brak to create controversy. The US policy is absolutely clear: we support the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount.” Friedman told the Israeli program Hadashot TV on May 23, 2018: “I was more mortified… than any Palestinian when I saw a picture of myself standing next to that poster. Someone just shoved it in my face and took a picture. Of course that’s unacceptable to me, and the United States respects the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif. That’s really an unfortunate thing, and I felt terrible that people might have reacted to that the way they did.”
(Photo credit: Kikar Hashabbat)
US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel - On Dec. 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump added that the final borders of Jerusalem will be determined during negotiations.
The US embassy opened in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, the anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948 according to the Gregorian calendar.
Al-Habbash said in a statement that Friedman’s appearance next to a large picture of the Jerusalem sanctuary (i.e., the Temple Mount), where the Dome of the Rock is removed from it and a picture of the alleged Temple is inserted in its place, is a provocative step that constitutes a racist insinuation and criminal incitement for the destruction of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (Friedman has clarified he was unaware of the image that was presented to him and called it unacceptable; see note below –Ed.)…
He [Al-Habbash] said: ‘The removal of the sites that are holy to Islam in Jerusalem is a racist goal of the extremists and the extreme right-wing that rules in the occupation state. The awaited goal of these criminals, and among them settler terrorist David Friedman, is to make the Palestinians disappear from Jerusalem and cause them to migrate from it’…
Al-Habbash said: ‘We expect a historic Arab and Islamic response to this racist provocation by the American ambassador. We must not agree to less than an explicit apology from him personally and from the American administration, his final return [to the US], the cancelation of the American decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the closing of the American settlement that was inaugurated in Jerusalem and falsely called an ‘embassy.’”
(Photo credit: Kikar Hashabbat)
US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel - On Dec. 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump added that the final borders of Jerusalem will be determined during negotiations.
The US embassy opened in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, the anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948 according to the Gregorian calendar.