PA religious affairs minister Mahmoud al-Habash confirmed the details of the
rally as they appeared in the video but said: "Our political position
remains unchanged. We believe in peace. He (Hussein) was simply quoting a
Hadith that talks about destiny, about what could happen in the future."

Israel condemns Palestinian cleric over sermon
Published today (updated) 22/01/2012 22:01
By Dan Williams
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=454481

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israel condemned the top Palestinian cleric on Sunday
for reciting a passage from Muslim scripture that called for the killing of
Jews.

Preaching on Jan. 9 at a rally marking the 47th anniversary of the founding
of Fatah, Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammed Hussein read out a Hadith, or
traditional text attributed to the Prophet Mohammad.

"The hour of judgment will not come until you fight the Jews," he said. "The
Jew will hide behind the stone and behind the tree. The stone and the tree
will cry, 'Oh Muslim, Oh Servant of God, this is a Jew behind me, come and
kill him'."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the mufti's sermon: "This
is a very serious offense that all the countries of the world must condemn."

He said he had asked Israel's attorney-general to open a criminal
investigation. The Justice Ministry had no immediate comment.

Interviewed by Reuters Television, Hussein described the Hadith as an
end-of-times prophesy, not a political precept.

"There is nothing in my speech that calls for killing," he said. "I was
speaking about my people, its steadfastness and its existence in this land
until the hour (of resurrection)".

Video of the rally circulated by an Israeli NGO showed a man introducing the
mufti by saying: "Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs is a war
of religion and faith. Long live Fatah!"

The Quran retells the Exodus story of some Jews rebelling against Moses
after their deliverance from bondage, and says God punished them by turning
them into pigs and apes.

PA religious affairs minister Mahmoud al-Habash confirmed the details of the
rally as they appeared in the video but said: "Our political position
remains unchanged. We believe in peace. He (Hussein) was simply quoting a
Hadith that talks about destiny, about what could happen in the future."

Israel captured East Jerusalem, including revered Dome of the Rock compound
under the mufti's authority, in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel deems the
entire city its capital, a status not recognized abroad, where there is
widespread support for the Palestinians' demand to found a state with a
capital in East Jerusalem.

Israeli police last year detained two West Bank settler rabbis on suspicion
they had encouraged the killing of Arabs. A Justice Ministry spokesman said
a decision on prosecuting them was still pending.