Peace center launch for museum of tolerance "constitutes a war crime” that will set the world “on fire,” says PA supreme Shari’ah judge
Headline: “Al-Habbash warns against the desecration of the sanctity of the Mamilla Cemetery in Jerusalem by Zionist-American parties”
“Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash warned against the intent of Zionist American institutions and parties and of former senior American officials in the administration of previous US President Donald Trump to desecrate the sanctity of the Mamilla Islamic Cemetery in occupied Jerusalem (see note below -Ed.).
In a statement yesterday [Oct. 9, 2021], Al-Habbash said that these institutions intend to desecrate the sanctity of the cemetery by holding a ‘ceremony’ on Oct. 11, [2021,] on the ruins of what remains of the historical Islamic cemetery, which has contained the bones of hundreds of Muslims and residents of Jerusalem for more than 1,000 years.
He emphasized that this step constitutes a war crimein the full sense of the word, because it is a blatant blow to the bones of our ancestors and a heavy insult to all the Muslims…
He explained: ‘The Zionist organizations in the US, and foremost among them previous American Ambassador in the occupation state settler David Friedman and his hate-filled band, are working day and night to fix a false narrative composed of various lies and fables in the holy city [of Jerusalem], and this is by harming the historical and religious evidence that proves the Islamic and Arab identity of Jerusalem.The Mamilla Cemetery is one of the conclusive pieces of evidence that the site is Islamic, which debunks all the colonialist legends and lies.’
Al-Habbash warned that if this crime is committed, this will intensify the state of rage and tension of the Palestinian people in light of the occupation’s policy, which is liable to set the entire region on fire, and its flames are liable to spread worldwide.
He emphasized that more than 1.5 billion Muslims will be insulted by the desecration of the sanctity of their dead, and they will not agree to this. Al-Habbash demanded that the reasonable people intervene immediately and before it is too late to prevent this crime from being carried out at the Mamilla Cemetery, and if not – no one will be able to contain the responses to this, and then remorse will be no help, and the reasonable people will have no role or influence at all.”
Mahmoud Al-Habbash also serves as Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice. In August 2019 PA Chairman Abbas dismissed all his advisors by Presidential decree. It is unclear what their status is today.
The mention of “desecrating the sanctity of the Mamilla Islamic Cemetery in occupied Jerusalem” refers to the launch of the Friedman Center for Peace through Strength on Oct. 11, 2021, at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem. The center is to focus on advancing the Abraham Accords normalization deals between Israel and several Arab states. The Museum of Tolerance is partially built on land that was once part of the Mamilla Cemetery. However, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that construction on the museum could continue since the area in question had already been converted into a public parking lot roughly 50 years prior with no complaint.