The Palestinian Union of Religious Scholars has condemned the normalisation of ties with Israel as a “stab in the heart of the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic nations.” A statement from the organisation called for an end to all forms of normalisation.

“Some of the Arab nations stab the resilience of the Palestinians in the heart,” said Dr Salem Salama, the deputy leader of the union. “Not in the back, mind you, but in the heart, because they not only normalise relations secretly with Israel, but have also opened the gates of their capitals for the Israeli Prime Minister.”

He expressed the scholars’ shock at the degree of “penetration of the boycott wall” by Arab governments. “This is at a time when the Palestinians are still involved in the battle to liberate Islamic and Christian holy sites from Israel’s occupation.”

According to Salama, the scholars are surprised to hear governments claiming that normalisation is being done to help the Palestinian cause. “Meetings between the leaders of the occupation authorities and Arab and Islamic politicians will have negative consequences for the Palestinians, their rights and their sacred cause.” He stressed that religious scholars in Palestine and beyond came out against occupation of any kind as long ago as 1935.

The Arab and Islamic nations, especially their scholars, should be the prime defenders of Palestinian rights, Salama added, instead of normalisation. He called for them to protect the Palestinian cause and lands, as well as the holy city of Jerusalem, from the Israeli occupation.

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