Israel’s destruction “is closer than people think,” promises Abbas’ advisor
“The Palestinian National Liberation Movement ‘Fatah’ emphasized that Jerusalem and its sites that are holy to Islam and Christianity are a red line, and that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque – the first direction of [Muslim] prayer and the third holiest mosque – will continue to belong to the Muslims alone without a division or partnership.
In a statement that was issued for the anniversary of the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist Zionist Denis Michael (sic., Michael Denis Rohan; see note below), Fatah said that all of the Israeli occupation’s measures against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, those carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic), and the worshippers are proof of the goals that the occupation is striving for, but this will not pass thanks to the firm stand of those carrying out Ribat and our people in Jerusalem.
It added that Jerusalem will remain the eternal capital of the free and independent Arab Palestinian state, and that there will be no peace or stability in the region until Jerusalem is liberated, the free and independent State of Palestine is established, and the [Palestinian] refugees return, as [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas has emphasized time and again…
Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and President [Abbas’] Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash said that the hour of Jerusalem’s liberation – including the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque – is closer than ever, and that the Israeli occupation will necessarily pass from the world.
In a statement for the 52nd anniversary of the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Habbash added that the other promise (refers to a Quranic verse Al-Habbash interprets as prophesizing Israel’s destruction; see note below -Ed.), which we believe in, is a true promise from Almighty Allah, and it is closer to being realized than people think…
He emphasized that all the measures that the occupation has been implementing for more than 50 years to erase the Al-Aqsa Mosque from our consciousness and our hearts have failed, and that our people is determined to restore it in its entirety without diminishing anything, with all its plazas, its courtyards, the Dome of the Rock, the Southern Mosque (i.e., the Al-Aqsa Mosque itself), and the Al-Buraq Wall (i.e., the Western Wall of the Temple Mount), which is a basic part of it and a pure Islamic endowment…
The [PA] Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates… explained that the deliberate burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is still continuing in more dangerous ways, including the changing of its historical and legal status that existed even before the occupation, the falsification [of facts] underneath the ground, and the forging of its landmarks through excavations and planting [archaeological] findings and forcefully inserting them into the bowels of the earth in order to serve the occupation’s narrative.”
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.
Michael Rohan - Australian Christian with a mental health disorder who set fire to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969. For years, the Palestinian Authority has falsely accused Israel of setting the fire.
The final (other) promise - The second half of Sura 17:7 of the Quran - “Then when the final promise came, [We sent your enemies] to sadden your faces and to enter the temple [in Jerusalem], as they entered it the first time, and to destroy what they had taken over with [total] destruction.” [Sahih International translation] - can be understood as either past or future tense due to the ambiguity of the Arabic "idha ja'a" referring to “the promise” that can be understood as “when it came” or “when it comes,” and the Arabic “al-ahera,” also referring to the promise, which can mean “other” or “final.” Many religious scholars understand it as past tense referring back to the destruction of the Second Temple. But some understand it as future tense, prophesizing some future destruction befalling the Jews. Al-Habbash presents it as prophesizing a final war in which Israel will be destroyed.
The Al-Buraq Wall - Islam's Prophet Muhammad is said to have ridden during his Night Journey from Mecca to "al aqsa mosque", i.e., "the farthest mosque" (Quran, Sura 17), and there tied his miraculous flying steed named Al-Buraq to a "stone" or a "rock." (Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Book 47, Hadith 3424). In the 1920's, Arab Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husseini decided to identify the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem as that "rock" or "stone," and since then Muslims refer to the Western Wall as the "Al-Buraq Wall."