Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, has been invited to speak at Ben Gurion University on "Religious Aspects of the Israeli – Palestine Conflict and the need for religious tolerance," reports Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).
For years, Al-Habbash has been promoting conflict and war with Israel in the name of Islam.
Al-Habbash recently taught that Islam prohibits accepting Israel's existence because the "entire land of Palestine" is Islamic waqf – an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law. As such, he forbids making peace with Israel because he believes Islamic law prohibits "facilitat[ing] the occupation of even a millimeter of it", i.e., "the entire land of Palestine":
Al-Habbash has recently said that the Western Wall is also Islamic waqf and that "it is ours and will remain ours. The occupation [Israel] is the one that will leave":
PMW adds that Al-Habbash also expressed emphatic support for those involved in the recent murderous terror attacks in Jerusalem. He said on November 5:
"We are behind them. The leadership is with them. A few days ago, President [Mahmoud Abbas] greeted them, reinforced them and requested more Ribat from them... We are with them in every movement, in every action and every deed, and we welcome what they are doing at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."
Support for murders
Al-Habbash expressed his support for "every action and every deed" after two Israelis had already been murdered in Jerusalem.
Al-Habbash has actively fueled religious hatred more than once by voicing the libel that Israel is planning to build the "alleged Third Temple" in place of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Finally, last year, Al-Habbash said that the entire peace process with Israel is a deceptive process modeled after Muhammad's Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. Although the Muslim Prophet signed a 10-year peace treaty with the tribes of Mecca, "in less than two years, the Prophet returned and, based on this treaty, he conquered Mecca. This is the example, this is the model," explained Al-Habbash in a sermon. [Official PA TV, July 19, 2013].