A Palestinian Arab cleric said in a sermon last Friday, which aired on the Palestinian Authority’s Palestine TV that “Allah had turned Jews into apes and pigs”.

The cleric, Sheikh Osama Al-Tibi, also said that the Jews have not changed throughout history despite Muslim attempts at peace

He added that the conflict between the Jews and Muslims will continue until Judgment Day, when the Jews will hide behind the rocks and the trees, which will call to the Muslims to kill the Jews.

The sermon, made at the Taqwa Mosque in Al-Tira, near Ramallah, was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“Allah cursed them because they violated their covenant, and ‘turned them into apes, pigs, and worshippers of false deities.’ These are the Jews, and this is Allah’s testimony about them,” claimed Al-Tibi, who added, “They always act with hypocrisy and they always violate [agreements]. They always fight and they always sow corruption. They always plot and conspire against humanity – not only against the Muslims.”

Comparing Jews to apes and pigs is a motif often used by Arab leaders and Muslim clerics.

Palestinian Authority Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein has said Muslims are in a religious war against the Jews who, he said, are the "descendants of apes and pigs."

Hamas officials have made similar comments in the past. Hamas politburo member Fathi Hammad, who in the past served as the terrorist group's interior minister, has in the past vowed to annihilate the “brothers of apes and pigs”, meaning the Jews.

During a parliamentary session in Gaza this past summer, Hamas MP and cleric Yunis Al-Astal recited at length quotes from the Quran, vilifying the Jews and comparing them to apes and pigs.