Speaking about Jerusalem, and with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the audience, PA Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash in his Friday sermon threatened that "Jerusalem can ignite a thousand and one wars" and that unless Jerusalem "returns" to the Palestinians, "its owners," and unless it becomes the capital of the Palestinian people, "there is no peace."The Minister also warned that "If Jerusalem is dishonored, if Jerusalem is disgraced, if [Jerusalem] is lost, it may leave the door open to all possibilities of struggle, all possibilities of war. The term 'war' cannot be erased from the lexicon of this region as long as Jerusalem is occupied..."
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was present in the audience while Habbash made these statements.
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The following is the excerpt from the Friday sermon from the mosque at Mahmoud Abbas's office in Ramallah and broadcast on PA TV:
Speaker: Mahmoud Al-Habbash, PA Minister of Religious Affairs, and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is in the audience.
"Jerusalem is not just a city. Al-Aqsa is not just a mosque. Jerusalem is the key to peace, and Jerusalem can ignite a thousand and one wars. Unless the issue of Jerusalem is solved, so that it returns to its owners; unless Jerusalem will be Palestinian, as it was throughout history, the capital of the Palestinian state and the capital of the Palestinian people, the place which is the object of heartfelt longing and which all Muslims aspire to reach; unless Jerusalem is like that way, there is no peace. There is no peace without Jerusalem. There is no stability without Jerusalem... If Jerusalem is dishonored, if Jerusalem is disgraced, if [Jerusalem] is lost, it may leave the door open to all possibilities of struggle, all possibilities of war. The term 'war' cannot be erased from the lexicon of this region as long as Jerusalem is occupied, as long as Jerusalem is disgraced, as long as the residents of Jerusalem are being targeted. It's not possible; Jerusalem has to return to its owners. And we are its owners."
[PA TV (Fatah), Aug. 20, 2010]
