On Thursday, the preacher of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ikrimah Sabri, issued a legal ruling - a fatwa - about any Palestinian who sells land or buildings to Jews, saying that it is allowed for Muslims to murder him or her.
The one who sells land to Jewish groups or middlemen will not be washed or shrouded (before his funeral), he will not be buried in a Muslim cemetery, no prayer will be recited over him, even if he fasts (through Ramadan), prays, and claims that he is a Muslim. His blood is free prey, and he must be boycotted, because as our most honorable prophet Muhammad said: “The blood of a Muslim man who says ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger” is not permitted (to be shed), except in three cases: Soul for soul (i.e. as revenge if he killed someone), the unmarried adulterer, and an apostate who has left his community.
Photos were circulated of the sheikh with his printed fatwa, on which you can see the logos of various Palestinian groups including Hamas, the PFLP and Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah.
Others reported this story as saying that Sabri only prohibited the burial of any sellers, but the text clearly says this his blood is free to be shed, similarly to the allowances for murderous revenge under Islam and an apostate. This was echoed by others, such as Islamic Jihad, which praised the fatwa.
I did not see any response to this by any human rights group, nor did any Palestinian media outlet say anything negative about this fatwa.
Notice also that the text does not say that the ruling is against anyone who sells land to Israelis or Zionists, but to Jews.
(h/t Ibn Boutros)
