Christian Writes in Official PA Daily: Selling Land to Israelis is a “Betrayal of Jesus”

Christians who advance the Palestinian “resistance” are enabling the Islamic jihad against Israel. One wonders how a Christian, knowing that Jesus was a Jew from the House of David, could proclaim what Christian columnist Muwaffaq Matar wrote: "The Christian Palestinians understood the danger of Judaization to their existence and to their holy sites… They also know that the Zionist plot is not limited only to Judaizing the holy sites of the Muslim Palestinians…Therefore, they view the sale of Palestinian lands to the Israeli racist colonialist occupiers and settlers as a betrayal of Jesus."

The persecution frequently suffered by Christian Palestinians and Christians throughout the Middle East at the hands of Muslims has drastically reduced the presence of Christians in the region. Many were murdered; others were driven out. In the region of the birthplace of Jesus, the Christian population has declined from 86% to 12% in the past 60 years. 

Muwaffaq Matar dismisses these facts and instead opts to spread propaganda. “Sale of land to Israelis is ‘betrayal of Jesus’ – Christian writer in official PA daily,” by Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch, January 5, 2021.

Palestinian Authority law prohibits the sale of land to Israelis/Jews. Palestinian Media Watch reported that PA Chairman Abbas himself issued the decision in 2014 that orders “life imprisonment with forced labor for the clandestine transfer, leasing or selling of lands to a hostile country or its citizens.”

In addition, Palestinians also portray selling land to Israelis asa religious transgression. A regular Christian columnist for the official PA daily, Muwaffaq Matar, wrote that “Christian Palestinians understood the danger of Judaization” and “therefore, they view the sale of Palestinian lands to the Israeli racist colonialist occupiers and settlers as a betrayal of Jesus.” It seems that the columnist believes there is Christian holiness to all the land of Israel that is defiled when any land is sold to Jews: “The Christian Palestinians understood the danger of Judaization to their existence and to their holy sites… They also know that the Zionist plot is not limited only to Judaizing the holy sites of the Muslim Palestinians…Therefore, they view the sale of Palestinian lands to the Israeli racist colonialist occupiersand settlers as a betrayal of Jesus. They think that whoever does this…is not eligible to represent the church or any Christian citizen in Palestine” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 27, 2020].

Similarly, Muslim Palestinians see all the land of Israel as Islamic holy land and so the PA’s Grand Mufti and the Fatwa Council have warned that such sales are not only against PA law but also against Islamic law: “Anyone selling Palestinian real estate to the enemy [is] a traitor to Allah and His Messenger, as well as to his religion and homeland” [Official PA TV, Oct. 23, 2014]

The Grand Mufti repeated this in 2020 at a conference titled The Deal of the Century and Giving Lands to the Enemy From a Religious Perspective, stating that “the land” is “the property the Islamic nation.” He further instructed that anyone selling land to “the enemy” should be ostracized and warned that such a person won’t be buried in a Muslim cemetery:

“Regarding the sale of lands and giving them to the enemy, the [PA Grand Mufti] Sheikh Hussein said that it is forbidden to sell lands to the occupation or to facilitate the processes of this purchase through mediators and the like, since this land is an Islamic waqf (i.e., an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law) and the property of the [Islamic] nation, and therefore it is forbidden to transfer it to the enemy because this will lead to the eviction of the Muslims from their land. He explained that whoever sells [land] and of whom this is proven – it is forbidden to deal with him in buying or selling, and if he dies, he will not be purified and will not be buried in the Muslims’ cemeteries” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 6, 2020].

PA law states that whoever tries to sell land to Jews will be sentenced to 5 years of hard labor, and someone who actually sells land to Jews will be punished with a life sentence with hard labor. PA officials have even instructed PA police to “take the firmest steps against anyone who is proven to have secretly sold or transferred lands to the occupation, or to have collaborated in the matter.” [OfficialPA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 19, 2020].

https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/01/christian-writes-in-official-pa-daily-that-selling-land-to-israelis-is-a-betrayal-of-jesus