Fatah lashes out at UAE, warns Palestinians not to take Emirati “money dipped in Palestinian blood.”
By Yakir Benzion, United With Israel
Still fuming that two Arab countries bypassed them to make peace with Israel, the Fatah party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warned Palestinians Sunday not to take “money dipped in Palestinian blood” from the United Arab Emirates.
Palestinians were enraged after pictures were posted on social media appearing to show a visiting delegation of nine men from the UAE praying inside the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, despite Palestinian claims it is closed to prayer due to high coronavirus infection rates. However, Israeli health guidelines allow indoor prayer for up to 10 people for all religiouns.
“The Fatah region in Jerusalem warns of the Emirati money dipped in Palestinian blood, which comes through the gate of the occupation at a time when the doors are closed to the Palestinian leadership, and Palestinian activity in Jerusalem is prohibited,” Fatah posted on its Facebook page.
“Under heavy guard from the Israeli occupation police … a Gulf normalization delegation stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” tweeted Arabi 21 News, using the same language Palestinians normally reserve for when Jews visit their holiest site, the Temple Mount.
Palestinians often try to incite a response by saying “settlers are storming” the area, when in reality it is usually a small group of Jewish tourists, always escorted by police, who are calmly walking through the site.
A Palestinian named Mahmood Tamimi went so far as to call the Emiratis “Gulf settlers” in a tweet. Palestinians often refer to all Israelis as “settlers,” including those murdered in previous Palestinian terror attacks on Tel Aviv.
Palestinians also slammed the Emiratis for carrying out what they call “normalization,” as official Palestinian policy bans all “normalization” activity with Israel. That policy effectively bans most outreach activities by any group, including by left-leaning peace groups, wanting to build bridges of understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, making so much as a friendly little league soccer game a crime that could get the Palestinian team’s coach arrested.
“A Gulf normalization delegation has been praying in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the people of Jerusalem have been banned from entering it for nearly a month!,” tweeted Mohamd Nashwan, who describes himself as a Jerusalemite who “belongs to God, then to the homeland, then to my loved ones.” Nashwan failed to note that prayer has also been severely curtailed on Jews wanting to pray at the Western Wall and Christians at the many churches in Jerusalem’s Old City for the exact same health reason.
Fatah Secretary Shadi al-Mutawir said “these suspicious visits from Arab delegations, led by the Emirati delegations, are considered a dagger in the Palestinian heart.”
Al-Mutawir called the Israeli-UAE peace agreement “an infringement of all Arab and Islamic values and a flagrant violation of the principles of Arabism…
“History will not show mercy to every conspirator against Jerusalem,” he said.