Abbas defends visits to Jerusalem

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has said that visiting Jerusalem and the holy al-Aqsa mosque is not prohibited in holy Islamic texts like the Qur’an or Sunnah. He also did not accept fatwas that prohibited visiting Jerusalem. Abbas said on Wednesday: "The Qur’an does not include any text that prohibits visiting Jerusalem. Prohibition needs a text and no one, scholar or mufti, can prohibit that. God is the only one who can do that." He stressed that they had a confrontation with some scholars, whom he said he respected, "but they mixed religion with reality and with politics so they did not reflect truth and justice". He added: “We always call our Arab brethren, Muslims and Christians, to visit Jerusalem to know what is going on there. The Palestinian land is being robbed and looted day after day by the Israeli occupation. So we have to join hands and stand together to prevent the implementation of the goals of the Israeli government which seeks to abolish the Palestinian existence and identity.” Abbas made the statements while receiving a youth delegation. He said: “Welcome to the land of Palestine. We are happy to see our brethren from the Arab countries visiting Palestine, learning about its conditions, helping its people to stand stronger, and supporting their determination. We are really in need of you.” The president said that Palestine had experienced occupation before, as in the time of the Crusaders, when Jerusalem was occupied for more than 100 years. "Despite this, people used to come, go on pilgrimage and live here," he said. He concluded his speech saying: “I consider your visit blessed. I salute you and hope you will return and encourage your people to come to us.” During the last Arab summit, in Baghdad, Abbas called on Arab leaders and people to visit occupied Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa mosque to support the commitment of the people there. However, a number of scholars considered the statements a cover for normalising ties with Israel. Jerusalem this month witnessed a number of visits from Arab figures to the al-Aqsa mosque: the Jordanian prince Hashem bin Al Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa accompanied by prince Ghazi bin Muhammad and the Jordanian interior minister Mohammad Al Raoud, as well as the Jordanian director of public security Hussein al-Majali. Harsh criticism was directed to Ali Gomaa, but he justified his visit saying it was upon an invitation from the Jordanian kingdom, and that it is reinforcing the strength and conviction of Jerusalemites.