Mahmoud Habbash, an advisor to Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, said in a Friday sermon on January 24 that the Palestinians, the Arabs, and the Muslims will never accept the Deal of the Century, which he referred to as the “Deal of Shame”, the “Deal of Disgrace,” and the “Filth of the Century.”
Habbash said in the sermon, which was given several days before US President Donald Trump unveiled the plan, that the deal is a path that leads to treason and that anyone who accepts the deal will pay the price for that treason.
Habbash told his audience that the Palestinians have an option to disgrace themselves by accepting the deal, or an option to “fight until [their] neck[s] are chopped off” as the Prophet Muhammad had sworn to fight the infidels.
He added that the Palestinians welcome death for the sake of Allah and that they would willingly die if that is the price for rejecting the Trump peace plan.
The sermon aired on Palestine TV and was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
Habbash is known for his inciting statements against Israel. In 2018, he compared Israel’s restrictions on access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque to Nazi methods.
In 2017, he blasted the security measures taken by Israel following a terror attack on the Temple Mount, saying they constitute a blatant violation of the conventions and decisions of international institutions regarding the status of Jerusalem and its holy sites.
Also that year, Habbash gave a sermon which was attended by Abbas himself, during which he warned the US against moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Doing so, Habbash said at the time, would be a “declaration of war”.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)