Following is an interview with Palestinian Authority Minister of Religious Endowments Mahmoud Al-Habbash, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on September 6, 2010:
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/0/0/0/0/0/0/2630.
To view the Palestinian Media Studies Project page, visit http://www.memri.org/palestinianmediastudiesproject.
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "Whoever believes in Allah and in Judgment Day should say worthy things or remain silent. But the president of the Iranian Farsi Republic does not say worthy things, nor does he remain silent. On the contrary, he said bad things, rubbing salt in the wounds of the Palestinian people.
"It is considered blatant and inacceptable interference in Palestinian affairs when he talks about the elected Palestinian president, who represents all Palestinians, home and abroad, according to Palestinian law as well as the Palestinian constitution, both in the PLO and in the Palestinian Authority. Therefore, Mr. Ahmadinejad should not have fallen into this trap. He should not have made this terrible mistake, both against the Palestinians and against his own Iranian people.
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"The Iranian regime's interference in Palestinian affairs has never led to anything positive. What has been the outcome of Iranian interference in the Palestinian cause? First, it has caused a rift among the Palestinians, through its encouragement and support of Hamas, inciting it to carry out a coup against the PA.
"Second, Mr. Ahmadinejad and the Iranian regime are working to weaken the Arab front, by targeting Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and some Gulf states. We have witnessed what happened in Bahrain in recent days. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime occupies UAE islands in the Arabian Gulf – which should not be called 'the Persian Gulf.'
"They occupy Arab islands in the Arabian Gulf, thus providing a pretext for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, and for the claim that it is not the only occupation in the region, because Iran also occupies Arab land.
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"The entire world – not only us – questions the legitimacy of the Iranian president. The Iranian people itself questions the legitimacy of President Ahmadinejad.
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"This Persian regime in Iran has shown us nothing but prattle, and negative, destructive interference in inter-Palestinian and inter-Arab relations. Iran's attempts to divide and weaken the Arab ranks – whose interests do they serve? The interests of the Palestinian cause or the interests of the Israeli occupation? Striking a blow against the Iraqi enterprise, starting a war that lasted eight years, weakening Iraqi capabilities – whose interests did it serve?
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"There is not a single Palestinian who can rely on the word of Mr. Ahmadinejad. No Palestinian child attributes any value to his words." [...]
