Sheikh Muhammad Hussein: Jerusalem embassy will bring war
A key Palestinian religious leader is warning that there will be war if the United States follows through on its announced plan to open an embassy in Jerusalem, which Washington now formally recognizes as Israel’s capital.
The threat, according to Palestinian Media Watch, comes from Sheik Muhammad Hussein, the grand mufti of Jerusalem.
The official Palestinian Authority daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reported Hussein, described as “preacher at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” “warned against the severity of the American administration’s decision on transferring its embassy to occupied Jerusalem.”
“He explained that the transfer of the American embassy to Jerusalem, if it is carried out, will not be an attack on the Palestinians alone, but rather a blatant attack on the Arabs and Muslims throughout the world and that it will not serve peace and security in the region, but rather bring upon it disasters of wars, anarchy, and instability,” the report said.
Trump, last Dec. 6, formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital after three previous administrations had signed waivers every six months delaying enactment of a law passed by Congress.
Last week, the State Department announced the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will open May 14, 2018, the 70th anniversary of Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948.
That day is known to Palestinians as the”Nakba,” Arabic for “the catastrophe.”