Abbas arrests Christian man and closes institution he heads because he hosted a Jew – “extremist settler Yehuda Glick”
Recently, PA Chairman Abbas stressed the successful and harmonious coexistence between Palestinian Christians and Muslims, stressing that “Christians and Muslims fight together against their enemy (i.e., Jews/Israelis), because we have been the owners of this land since this land’s existence.”
But the mutual love and understanding only go as far as Abbas allows. If you are a Christian and stray from the path of “fighting the enemy” Israel, you will be punished.
That is what happened to a Christian organization in Bethlehem a few days ago when it “dared to welcome” an “extremist settler” Jew. Following a visit by former Israeli MP Yehuda Glick who heads the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation and the HaLiba initiative – groups that advocate for Jewish rights to pray on the Temple Mount – the PA closed the Christian institution Beit Al-Liqa’ for a week and arrested the Christian head of the association while an “investigation” is being carried out:
“The PA decided to close the Beit Al-Liqa’ [Christian] institution in Beit Jala, following a visit by leader of the extremist settlement organization ‘HaLiba’ [former Israeli Parliament Member] Yehuda Glick, who is known for his recurring break-ins (i.e., visits, see note below) to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. An official [PA] source said: ‘It was decided to close the Beit Al-Liqa’ association in Beit Jala for a week, until the completion of an investigation of the incident and the implementation of the required measures. The [PA] Security Forces must immediately implement the required measures.’
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 3, 2022]
Johnny Shahwan, who chairs the Christian Beit Al-Liqa’ association, is guilty of having simply met with Glick. The PA Supreme Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine claims that Shahwan’s “behavior harms the honor of the members of our Palestinian people” who is “fighting” to “defend” the Islamic and Christian holy sites from the “desecration” by visiting Jews:
“The [PA] Supreme Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine emphasized that it will implement the required measures regarding the Beit Al-Liqa’ association in cooperation with the Security Forces and legal bodies, because it hosted extremist settler Yehuda Glick.
The Presidential Committee said in a press release that it ‘will not be negligent or take lightly the fact that Beit Al-Liqa’ association Chairman Johnny Shahwan dared to welcome the extremist Glick, leader of the extremist “HaLiba” organization.’ It said that this is behavior that harms the honor of the members of our Palestinian people, who are fighting against the occupation to defend their land and their sites that are holy to Islam and Christianity. The committee emphasized: ‘This reception was held at a time when the Palestinians are dealing with the desecration of the Christian and Islamic houses of worship in Jerusalem by the occupation and its settlers, and here suddenly appear those who do not represent the Palestinian people and they welcome extremist Zionists on the land of the State of Palestine, while ignoring all the national values.’”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 3, 2022]
An activist, Mundhir Amira, called on the PA to “punish everyone who was involved in the reception.”
In an interview on Israeli television [Kan, March 9, 2022] Rabbi Glick, who is also a certified tour guide, said that this was his first meeting with Johnny Shahwan. He explained that he went to the Beit Al-Liqa’ premises to meet with a German group of tourists, some of whom he had met with and guided previously, and that his meeting with Shahwan was entirely incidental. He added that since Shahwan’s arrest, he has reached out to numerous people to request that they intervene on Shahwan’s behalf, but that all those he approached seemed to be afraid of enraging the PA.
Meeting with Yehuda Glick has proven disastrous for Palestinians in the past. In 2017, Muhammad Jaber, a Hebron resident, was arrested by the PA after meeting with the right-wing politician, then MP.
Rabbi Yehuda Glick is the Chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation that works to increase awareness of the central place the Temple Mount and the Temple hold in Jewish heritage through educational activities and by encouraging people to visit the Temple Mount. In addition, he is the coordinator of the LIBA initiative - The Jewish Freedom on the Temple Mount initiative whose goal is to obtain freedom and civil rights for Jews on the Temple Mount. On Oct. 29, 2014, Mutaz Hijazi, an Islamic Jihad member and released prisoner, attempted to assassinate Glick, who was seriously wounded in the attack.
The following is a longer excerpt of the report cited above:
Headline: “Beit Al-Liqa’ in Beit Jala is closed due to a meeting with the extremist Glick”
“The PA decided to close the Beit Al-Liqa’ [Christian] institution in Beit Jala, following a visit by leader of the extremist settlement organization ‘HaLiba’ (sic., the group advocates for Jewish rights to pray on the Temple Mount) [former Israeli Parliament Member] Yehuda Glick, who is known for his recurring break-ins (i.e., visits, see note below) to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. An official source said: ‘It was decided to close the Beit Al-Liqa’ association in Beit Jala for a week, until the completion of an investigation of the incident and the implementation of the required measures. The [PA] Security Forces must immediately implement the required measures.’
The [PA] Supreme Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine emphasized that it will implement the required measures regarding the Beit Al-Liqa’ association in cooperation with the Security Forces and legal bodies, because it hosted extremist settler Yehuda Glick.
The Presidential Committee said in a press release that it ‘will not be negligent or take lightly the fact that Beit Al-Liqa’ association Chairman Johnny Shahwan dared to welcome the extremist Glick, leader of the extremist “HaLiba” organization.’ It said that this is behavior that harms the honor of the members of our Palestinian people, who are fighting against the occupation to defend their land and their sites that are holy to Islam and Christianity. The committee emphasized: ‘This reception was held at a time when the Palestinians are dealing with the desecration of the Christian and Islamic houses of worship in Jerusalem by the occupation and its settlers, and here suddenly appear those who do not represent the Palestinian people and they welcome extremist Zionists on the land of the State of Palestine, while ignoring all the national values.’
The reception of the settler aroused great rage. Popular resistance activist Mundhir Amira said: ‘The extremist Yehuda Glick is not wanted [here]. The important figures in the Bethlehem district must condemn the reception of Glick and punish everyone who was involved in the reception. We thank the Presidential Committee for Church Affairs for its awe-inspiring position.’”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 3, 2022]
The PA and its leaders misrepresent all of the Temple Mount as an integral part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Therefore, they vilify any presence of Jews on the mount as a "break-in." It should be noted that Jews who visit the Temple Mount only enter some sections of the open areas, and do not enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock. Israeli police ban Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount because of threats of violence by Palestinians.