Abbas’ advisor: US Amb. Friedman is “behaving like an extremist settler who is controlled by racist ideas against all people;” Jerusalem is "an Arab, Palestinian, and Islamic city"

Headline: "Al-Habbash: What American Ambassador Friedman did today in Jerusalem is piracy and an attack against international law"

"Supreme Shari'ah Judge and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] Advisor on Religious and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash sharply condemned the participation of US Ambassador to the occupation state (i.e., Israel) David Friedman and American Envoy Jason Greenblatt today (Sunday) [June 30, 2019] in the inauguration of the settlement tunnel that the occupation authorities created in the town of Silwan (referring to the inauguration of the Pilgrimage Road archeological site, which is partly under the Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan; see note below –Ed.)…
He emphasized that [Friedman's] actions constitute piracy and a blatant attack against international law, which considers Jerusalem an occupied city and a purely Islamic heritage [site], to which non-Muslims have no right according to UNESCO’s (UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) laws (sic., UNESCO does not establish laws).
In a press release, Al-Habbash said that the colonialist acts of [US President Donald] Trump's administration and its representatives – led by settler Friedman – in Jerusalem… will not change the historical and religious truth regarding the city, as it is an Arab, Palestinian, and Islamic city – it was and will remain such until Allah inherits the earth and its inhabitants. He noted that the plots of the occupation state, and behind it the colonialist administration that controls the White House, will not succeed in Judaizing the city or changing its Islamic and Palestinian character.
Al-Habbash added: 'Friedman's activities are as far as possible from diplomacy, as he is behaving like an extremist settler who is controlled by racist ideas against all people, and not only against the Palestinian people.'"

Mahmoud Al-Habbash also holds the position of Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice.

Pilgrimage Road – US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, US Envoy Jason Greenblatt, and US Senator Lindsey Graham took part in the inauguration ceremony of the Pilgrimage Road underground archaeological site, located south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, on June 30, 2019. The excavated road was used by Jewish pilgrims visiting the Second Temple around the first century CE, and the Arab neighborhood of Silwan has since been built above it.