Senior PA official: Netanyahu’s visit to the Cave of the Patriarchs turns conflict into “religious war,” he wants “entire world to burn”

Supreme Shari’ah Judge and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "The Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs) was, is, and will remain an Islamic mosque and an Islamic-Palestinian site. There is no basis for all of the illogical claims in the occupation’s mind, according to which this is a Jewish site or a site that is sacred to the Jews… The entire illogical and mythical Israeli narrative on this matter is invalid, has no basis in truth, and has no part in reality.”

Official PA TV host: “What does dealing in religion and falsifying the facts or falsifying religion lead to? After all, you personally have warned of a religious war.”

Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “This is the most dangerous thing in this equation – turning the struggle between us and the Israeli occupation into a religious struggle. Perhaps some belittle the word ‘religious struggle’ and discount its meanings, results, and consequences – in other words, that there is a struggle between Judaism and Islam, and that is incorrect. We, as Muslims, are not in a struggle with anyone due to their faith or religion... What is even more dangerous than this is that it is becoming a struggle between everyone who is Muslim and everyone who is Jewish. Not only in Palestine, but rather in the entire world - every Jew becomes a target for every Muslim and every Muslim a target for every Jew… That is the spark that will set the entire world on fire. The entire world will burn... What does Netanyahu want? He wants to set the world on fire for a few hundred or few dozen votes in the elections.

Al-Habbash said this after Israeli Prime Minister visited the Cave of the Patriarchs on Sept. 4, 2019, which the Palestinians refer to as the Ibrahimi Mosque, claiming it is an Islamic holy site while denying any Jewish historical ties to it.