Abbas' advisor: Jews have no rights to Western Wall or Temple Mount – they are Islamic waqf
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "[The Jews] have no right or legitimacy. They have no reference – no legitimate, religious, legal, or historical [reference] – in Jerusalem and in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., at the Temple Mount)…"
Official PA TV Host: "Not aboveground or below ground…"
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "If the occupation (i.e., Israel) will get the opportunity to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque, it may do so... They have no religious right, neither near nor far, to even a quarter of a meter [of the site]… And not to anywhere, from the earth to the sky [they have] no religious right whatsoever, as all the [Jews'] false claims and myths are outdated…The Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Al-Buraq Wall (i.e., the Western Wall), and the Al-Buraq Wall Plaza (i.e., the Western Wall Plaza) are Islamic waqf (i.e., an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law) and under the exclusive responsibility of the Islamic Waqf… However, by virtue of their tolerant attitude, Muslims allow non-Muslims to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque [plaza] (i.e., the Temple Mount), but without performing any worship rituals there… [The Jews] think that we... already recognize the Al-Buraq Wall [as] the [Jews'] Wailing Wall. Absolutely, absolutely not! … The exclusive ownership of the Al-Buraq Wall belongs to the Muslims, and the exclusive ownership of the Al-Buraq Wall Plaza also belongs to the Muslims. This is Islamic waqf…"
Host: "[The so-called Temple organizations] are publishing AI videos of the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the establishment of the Temple in its place... Are you not afraid that this will actually happen? …
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: If, Heaven forbid, any harm befalls the Al-Aqsa Mosque at the level of its structure and framework, I do not rule out anything…"
Host: "You mean a religious war?"
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "Much, much more than that. A religious war is already being waged. They are fighting against us, against our religion… However, this religious war will go beyond the borders of Palestine and beyond the borders of the Palestinians and Israelis. The whole world will pay the price."
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, March 30, 2026]
A waqf is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law. Palestinians define all of Israel as waqf, and thereby Israel exists on Islamic holy land. Palestinian leaders have explained that under Islamic law Muslims are commanded to free the waqf from non-Muslims.