Abu Jamea said that these clashes are a waste of the nation's youth, and do not accomplish anything. So far, he says, 40,000 young men and women have been lost with no gain. Sending young people to confront Israel "with their bare chests" only results in injuries and death, he says, and encouraging them to sacrifice themselves with no gain is not permitted.
Those who give rides to youths to start riots at the Gaza border are responsible for their deaths, the sheikh said.
There may be a political context here. Abu Jamea was in the news before, six years ago, for issuing another fatwa against building smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, pointing out that the tunnel owners exploit workers who often were killed in cave-ins.
That fatwa was issued at the request of the Palestinian Authority.
Was this one an attempt by Mahmoud Abbas to calm things down, or did the sheikh issue it on his own?
Abu Jamea also recently issued a fatwa against honor killings, so he just might be consistent in issuing fatwas to save Muslim lives.
The fact that this sounds so anomalous is itself cause for concern.
