PA, PLO, Fatah condemn Netanyahu’s “defilement” of Hebron and Cave of the Patriarchs during visit, deny Jewish history

Headline: “Official condemnations and condemnations from the factions of Netanyahu and [Israeli President Reuven] Rivlin’s invasion of Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque”

“The [PA] Ministry of Religious Affairs emphasized that [Israeli] occupation Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu]’s defilement of Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs) is nothing but a clear [declaration of] war, in which he has declared his blatant hatred towards the Palestinian presence in Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque, which is a purely Islamic mosque…

In a statement this evening (sic., yesterday evening), Wednesday [Sept. 4, 2019], the Ministry of Religious Affairs said that Netanyahu’s statement as he defiled Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque – according to which ‘they [the Jews] are not foreigners in Hebron and will remain there forever’ – is wrong and opposes historical logic. The ministry added that their [the Jews’] history is nothing but a legend that will remain in the history books, and that the occupation’s fate is to pass from the world…

[Fatah] Revolutionary Council member and Fatah Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi said that occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invasion of Hebron will not change by one bit the fact that Hebron – including its Ibrahimi Mosque in its entirety and its Old City with all its alleys – was and will remain Palestinian Arab. He added that ‘The thief’s visit to the scene of the crime is proof of his blatant aggression.’

Al-Qawasmi emphasized: ‘Netanyahu is attempting to obtain the votes of the extremists who are striving to make the conflict religious, and this is political and moral bankruptcy.’ …

Al-Qawasmi emphasized: ‘Fifty-two years after the occupation of Hebron, all of the forgeries and lies regarding the history, the oppression of the Palestinian Canaanites – the true owners of the land, the massacres against the worshippers at the Ibrahimi Mosque, its division (i.e., division of Muslim and Jewish prayer times), the division of the city, and the imposition of an apartheid regime – all of this has not changed and will not change the Arab-Palestinian face of Hebron. The Ibrahimi Mosque will remain purely Islamic in its entirety, despite the aggression.’ …

The Palestinian Arab Front (i.e., a member of the PLO) said that Netanyahu’s invasion of the Ibrahimi Mosque and defilement of it constitute a clear declaration of war and contempt for the Muslims’ sensibilities…

It called for a popular response that will be at the level of the crime the occupation forces are committing. The front added: ‘Our fighting people will not sit idly by before the defilement of its holy sites. The occupation bears full responsibility for this crime. [Our people] will defend its holy sites with all its strength.’”