Abbas' Advisor Mahmoud Habbash Compares Israeli Security Measures to Inquisition and Nazi Methods

Mahmoud Al-Habbash, advisor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, gave an address on the official Palestinian Authority TV channel, in which he complained about the restrictions on access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and said: "Is this or is this not the Inquisition? It is an Israeli Zionist Inquisition..." His remarks were broadcast on June 30.

Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "The most prominent mosque to which people are prevented access is the Al-Aqsa Mosque. There are roadblocks, restrictions, closure of the gates, road closures, and age restrictions – this is a new form of 'art,' which we are hearing about for the first time: People who are under 40 years of age are not allowed to pray...Dear God! What is this? What historical age are we living in? In the days of the Inquisition? Are they trying to do to others what was done to them in the ghettoes, in the Inquisition courts, or in the Nazi courts? Is this or is this not the Inquisition? It is an Israeli Zionist Inquisition, which is trying to violate one's human dignity, and the dignity of religious belief and of human faith in God."