Palestinian Fatwa Council Bans Participation in al-Quds Election

The Palestine Supreme Council of the Fatwa has banned participation in Israeli municipal election in East Jerusalem in October.

The Palestinian Supreme Council of Fatwa said running or voting in the upcoming municipal council in Quds (Jerusalem) is Haram (religiously forbidden.

According to Ma’an news agency, the council said the harms and evils entailed in doing so are considerably more than any benefits it may have.

Relying on oppressors and helping the occupiers in institutionalization of their policies and judaization of Quds are among the repercussions of taking part in the election as a candidate or voter, it said.

The council went on to stress that Quds is an Islamic-Arab city according to international law and participation in the Israeli-held election in the city means legitimizing the occupation of the city.

Israel has been controlling the eastern part of Quds since it occupied the area in the Six-Day War in 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.

Palestinians want the eastern part of the city as the capital of a future independent Palestinian state.