MINISTER OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS ON INCITEMENT AT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000230 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2020 TAGS: PGOV KPAL KWBG KISL IS SUBJECT: MINISTER OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS ON INCITEMENT AT BURIN MOSQUE REF: JERUSALEM 200 Classified By: Consul General Daniel Rubinstein for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The Palestinian Authority (PA) employee who delivered an impromptu sermon inciting violence at a West Bank mosque on January 29 was "disturbed," according to Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Mahmoud Habash. The employee, who works in Habash's ministry, has been counseled for his sermon, which was broadcast live on Palestinian television, Habash said. Habash added that the sermon contradicted official guidance and did not represent the views of the PA. Habash said he addressed the mosque attendees immediately after the offensive sermon to convey the PA's stance against denigration of people based on their religion and against incitement to violence. He acknowledged difficulties in the ministry's efforts to assert authority over mosques in those areas of the West Bank in which the PA does not have responsibility for security. End Summary. IMPROMPTU SERMON SPARKS CONTROVERSY -------------- ¶2. (C) At a February 7 meeting in Ramallah, Minister Habash said that the sermon, broadcast live by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation from the Burin village mosque on January 29, had been aired in error. Habash himself was scheduled to speak, but was delayed at an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoint en route to Burin. In Habash's absence, a ministry employee present decided to speak to attendees extemporaneously (reftel). The employee's sermon contained inciteful language calling the Jews the enemies of God and humanity, and contained remarks such as, "The Prophet says, 'You should fight the Jews and kill them.'" ¶3. (C) Habash said that he arrived at the mosque shortly after the sermon, but before the congregation had departed. When he learned what had been said, he claimed, he took to the pulpit himself and delivered an impromptu speech conveying the PA's position that there should be no denigration of the Jewish people or others based on their religion, and that there should be no incitement to violence. Habash (who left Hamas in the 1990s over its attempts to justify acts of violence in religious terms) said he called for peaceful efforts to oppose the mosque's planned demolition. Note: According to local NGOs and press reports, the IDF considers the Burin mosque to be illegally constructed, and demolition orders have been served. Habash noted that following the incident, Israeli authorities told the ministry they had revoked the demolition order. End Note. EMPLOYEE COUNSELED FOR SPEECH -------------- ¶4. (C) Habash said that following the incident, the "disturbed" ministry employee who delivered the sermon was counseled. Habash claimed that the employee had also been re-vetted following the incident, and had been found to have no radical affiliations. Correcting attitudes of this nature took "time and effort," he said, adding that the employee "may have been affected by local circumstances," such as the standing Israeli demolition order against the mosque, or frequent acts of settler violence emanating from the nearby settlements of Yitzhar and Har Bracha. MINISTRY OF AWQAF SAFEGUARDS -------------- ¶5. (C) Habash noted that the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs exercises control over nearly all of the West Bank's 1,800 mosques. In practice, he said, ministry control varies depending on the PA's access to the sites. The ministry's authority is greatest in Area A (major Palestinian population centers). Its authority is more limited in Areas B and C, in which PA activities are restricted. Burin lies in both Areas B and C. Note: Under the terms of Oslo-era agreements, the PA was given full civil and security control of West Bank population centers designated as "Area A." In smaller villages and farmland designated as Area B, the PA was ceded civil control, and Israel retained control of security. In Area C territory, which includes lands adjacent to or near Israeli settlements and military installations, Israeli JERUSALEM 00000230 002 OF 002 authorities retain full civil and security control. End Note. ¶6. (C) Habbash noted that the PA has at its disposal levers of control over the content of mosque sermons. These include rotating imams between mosques on a weekly basis, setting official themes for weekly sermons, and issuing standing guidance that topics should be limited to religious issues, and should not incite violence. He argued, however, that in cases in which factions not sanctioned by the PA gain control over local mosques, the PA's ability to regain influence is constrained by the ability of qualified PA staff to access the mosque in question. Difficulties in doing so in Area C had, he said, led the PA to access some Area C mosques without Israeli permission, as well as enlisting the Preventive Security Organization to carry out Area A arrests of individuals planning to cause trouble in Area C mosques. RUBINSTEIN