Abbas’ Advisor: Arab participation in Jerusalem municipal elections is “betrayal of Allah” and “a crime”
- PA fatwa: “The Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council confirmed the fatwa, which bans participating or running in the elections for the occupation’s (i.e., Israel’s) municipality in Jerusalem…This constitutes a violation of religious law and of the national consensus”
- Any Palestinian who runs or votes in Jerusalem municipal elections is committing “a crime” and “will lose his national identity and his Palestinian affiliation”
The Jerusalem municipal elections are scheduled for October 31, 2023, but the PA is already warning Arab residents of Jerusalem against participating as candidates or as voters. In fact, the Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council has issued a fatwa – an Islamic religious ruling - prohibiting participation in the elections, stating that it “constitutes a violation of religious law”:
Headline: “The [Palestinian Supreme] Fatwa Council bans participating in the elections of the occupation’s municipality in Jerusalem,both as candidates and as voters”
“The Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council confirmed the fatwa (i.e., Islamic religious ruling) that it issued, which bans participating or running in the elections for the occupation’s municipality in Jerusalem. It explained that this constitutes a violation of religious law and of the national consensus.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, June 15, 2023]
PA Supreme Shari’ah Judge and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash stressed that any participation in the elections “constitutes a betrayal of Allah,” as well as of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, “the blood of the Martyrs, and the sacrifice of the Jihad fighters”:
“Al-Habbash expressed appreciation for the fatwa issued by the Palestinian [Supreme] Fatwa Council, which defined participation in these elections as a crime, because it constitutes a violation of the national position and recognition of the occupation’s legitimacy. He emphasized that this also constitutes a betrayal of Allah and His Messenger [Muhammad], the blood of the Martyrs, and the sacrifice of the Jihad fighters carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic).”
[Ma’an, independent Palestinian news agency, June 20, 2023]
Abbas’ advisor's words that participating in the elections constitutes “recognition of the occupation’s (i.e., Israel’s) legitimacy,” is consistent with the PA/Fatah’s denial of Israel’s right to exist: “Israel’s very existence contradicts international law.” [Facebook page of the Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Oct. 10, 2022]
Al-Habbash also stated that anyone who takes part in the elections “will lose his national identity and his Palestinian affiliation.”
One person who might decide to go against the fatwa is Israeli Arab lawyer Walid Abu Tayeh, who has announced his “intention to run for mayor” and argued why:
“In an editorial published in the Al Quds daily explaining his decision, Abu Tiya wrote, ‘the only way to force Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and establish a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel is to appeal to the residents of East Jerusalem to vote and participate in the municipal elections, because the only force that threatens the existence of the State of Israel is the demographic force.’”
[JNS, June 13, 2023]
Abu Tayeh asked PA Chairman Abbas for his “blessing and consent” for his and other Jerusalem Arabs’ participation in the elections, and summarized Abbas’ five-point answer as follows:
“First, Jerusalem is a complicated topic. Second, it is better to focus on matters of routine life and distance oneself from political matters in Jerusalem. Third, the PLO and the [Palestinian] Authority will not give him (sic., me, Abu Tayeh) a green light to participate in the municipal elections. Fourth, he (sic., I, Abu Tayeh) must learn from the experience of the Palestinians in the territories of Palestine that have been occupied since 1948 (i.e., Israel). Fifth, it would be better to hold a discussion to reach a national agreement regarding participation or non-participation.”
[Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), June 16, 2023]
Despite Abbas’ answer that Abu Tayeh would “not get the green light” from the PLO and the PA, Abu Tayeh wrote on social media on June 13, 2023, that he had information that the PA authorities “do not oppose” participation in the elections.
“It has been learned from knowledgeable sources that the official Palestinian bodies do not oppose [participation in the elections], and that they will not intervene if Palestinian figures who are Jerusalem residents with Israeli passports participate in the Jerusalem municipal elections.”
[Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), June 16, 2023]
Abu Tayeh added that “this position constitutes a pragmatic turning point” in the PA’s attitude to participation in the elections.
It seems Abu Tayeh’s interpretation of the PA’s stand on this question prompted the Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council to issue the explicit fatwa on June 15, 2023, forbidding any participation in the elections.
Palestinian Media Watch documented a similar PA prohibition against participation in the Jerusalem municipal elections in 2018, which the Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council said at the time was “forbidden by religious law.” Those threats were a success as only 1.5% of Jerusalem Arabs voted in the elections.
The following are longer excerpts of the statements cited above:
Headline: “The [Palestinian Supreme] Fatwa Council bans participating in the elections of the occupation’s municipality in Jerusalem, both as candidates and as voters”
“The Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council confirmed the fatwa (i.e., Islamic religious ruling) that it issued, which bans participating or running in the elections for the occupation’s municipality in Jerusalem. It explained that this constitutes a violation of religious law and of the national consensus, which opposes such participation because the municipality is the first arm of the occupation authorities on everything concerning carrying out settlement and Judaization projects in the city…
During its meeting that was held today, Thursday [June 15, 2023], led by [PA] Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories and [Palestinian] Supreme Fatwa Council Chairman Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the council warned against the Israeli plans to submit a bill to divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque according to times and areas (refers to Israeli Parliament Member Amit Halevi’s proposed plan to allocate space for Jews on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism -Ed.)…
It said that the occupation authorities’ attempts to carry out this step will cause fierce rage, and will drag the entire region into a religious war whose results cannot be foreseen. It also called on whoever can come to occupied Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque to go to them, in order to set out against the Israeli occupation authorities’ aggressive plans.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, June 15, 2023]
Muhammad Hussein also serves as Deputy Secretary-General and acting Secretary-General of the PLO Popular National Conference of Jerusalem.
Headline: “Al-Habbash: There will be no Palestinian participation in the elections for the occupation municipality in Jerusalem”
“[PA] Supreme Shari’ah Judge and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash emphasized the rejection of any participation in the elections for the occupation municipality in Jerusalem written under any condition whatsoever, and he considered this [participation] as a crime. He also emphasized that anyone who does this, regardless of who it is, will lose his national identity and his Palestinian affiliation.
Al-Habbash expressed appreciation for the fatwa (i.e., Islamic religious ruling) issued by the Palestinian [Supreme] Fatwa Council, which defined participation in these elections as a crime, because it constitutes a violation of the national position and recognition of the occupation’s legitimacy. He emphasized that this also constitutes a betrayal of Allah and His Messenger [Muhammad], the blood of the Martyrs, and the sacrifice of the Jihad fighters carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic).”
[Ma’an, independent Palestinian news agency, June 20, 2023]
Mahmoud Al-Habbash also serves as Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice.
“Social media activists discussed a letter that lawyer Walid Abu Tayeh sent to [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas, in which he asked for his blessing and consent for the participation of the [Arab] residents of Jerusalem in the Jerusalem municipal elections…
In an interview with a radio [station] from the US, he said: ‘I sent a letter to the office of President Mahmoud Abbas, I explained the situation to him, and I asked for his blessing. He gave me a response containing five points: First, Jerusalem is a complicated topic. Second, it is better to focus on matters of routine life and distance oneself from political matters in Jerusalem. Third, the PLO and the [Palestinian] Authority will not give him (sic., me) a green light to participate in the municipal elections. Fourth, he (sic., I) must learn from the experience of the Palestinians in the territories of Palestine that have been occupied since 1948 (i.e., Israel). Fifth, it would be better to hold a discussion to reach a national agreement regarding participation or non-participation.’
Two days ago [June 13, 2023], the lawyer published a post on his [Facebook] page, which is called ‘Jerusalem Mayoral Candidate Lawyer Walid Abu Tayeh,’ which said: ‘The Palestinian official echelon is neutral regarding participation in the Jerusalem municipal elections?!’
In the post he wrote:‘It has been learned from knowledgeable sources that the official Palestinian bodies do not oppose [participation in the elections], and that they will not intervene if Palestinian figures who are Jerusalem residents with Israeli passports participate in the Jerusalem municipal elections.’
He added: ‘These sources explained that this position is conditioned on the approach regarding the elections being limited to services for civilians and services relating to daily life, without giving them a political or [Israeli] sovereign aspect of any kind, as long as Jerusalem is under the Israeli occupation that is unacceptable to the international institutions.’
According to the lawyer, ‘This position constitutes a pragmatic turning point in the attitude towards participation in the Jerusalem municipal elections, in light of the lack of a political horizon and the distancing of practical and realistic solutions for the Palestinian problem being realized in the foreseeable future.’”
[Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), June 16, 2023]