The Mufti of the PA Muhammad Hussein. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Muhammad Hussein

Sheikh Muhammad Hussein leads a campaign that lies to Palestinians about Jews “attacking” religious sites in Jerusalem with the aim of inciting Palestinians to attack Israelis.

By Nan Jacques Zilberdik, Palestinian Media Watch

The Palestinian Authority Grand Mufti continues to incite hatred and attempt to spark unrest in Jerusalem.

At a recent meeting of the Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council headed by PA Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the council “warned” Palestinians of Jews “attacking” their religious and national symbols in Jerusalem. Urging Palestinians to take action, the council said that “the Palestinian people will not stand idly by in the face of this colonialist cancer.”

“The [Palestinian] Supreme Fatwa Council warned of the danger of attacks against the religious and national symbols in occupied Jerusalem, and held the occupation government fully responsible for these violations. This was said during the 176th meeting of the council, led by [PA] Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories and Supreme Fatwa Council Chairman Sheikh Muhammad Hussein.The council expressed its rejection of all types of settlement, and emphasized that the Palestinian people will not stand idly by in the face of this colonialist cancer,” reported the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida at the end of August.

Recently, Palestinian Media Watch documented that the PA Mufti deliberately initiated clashes on the Temple Mount. By delaying the second morning prayer on the day of the beginning of the Muslim Eid Al-Adha – Feast of the Sacrifice – which coincided with the day Jews mourn the destruction of the two Temples, the Mufti ensured that many Palestinians would be present on the Temple Mount when the Jews were scheduled to start arriving, thus creating the perfect conditions for violence, which indeed took place.

Prior to this, the Mufti had closed all other mosques in Jerusalem on that day to force observing Palestinians to come and pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque – on the Temple Mount.

As documented by PMW, the PA views any presence of Jews on the Temple Mount as an “invasion,” “attack,” or “break-in,” claiming that it is holy only to Muslims and that therefore only Muslims have the right to visit and pray there, and that the presence of Jews “defiles” holy places.

Muhammad Hussein also serves as Deputy Secretary-General and acting Secretary-General of the PLO Popular National Conference of Jerusalem.