Sheikh Omar Ahmad Saif, in a Religious Opinion “Fatwa” “Shaking Hands with the Jews is a Great Treachery” [Archives:2000/15/Law & Diplomacy]

Strong reactions condemning Jews’ visits to Yemen dominated on the Yemeni society. The opposition parties including the Coordination Council as well as Islah Party distributed statements denouncing such visits and called upon the government to stop dealings with the Jews whoever their identities were.
Abdullah Bin Hussain Al-Ahmar, Speaker of the Parliament, has in a press conference denounced such visits and called for not permitting them. On the other hand, Sheikh Abdul Majeed Al-Zandani, director of Al-Iman University, strongly criticized the government’s permission of these visits and warned against the dangers of re-inhabiting the Jews in Yemen.
Sheikh Omar Ahmad Saif, a BGC leader and general director of the military forces, in a religious opinion “Fatwa” considered shaking hands with the Jews as a great treachery.
YT contacted Dr. Abdul Rahman Ba Fadel, an Islamic leader and asked him to give his opinion this issue as he studied abroad and had no problem to adapt himself to other religions. He had the following to say:
1-In fact all Yemen people will resist normalization with Jewish state starting with political parties as well as tribal leading personalities, and Yemen nation in general Women and Men, without any exception. The question should be who are the individuals who will accept normalization.
2-In all cases most of the Arab regimes if not all accepted openly or secretly, directly or indirectly normalization with Jewish state on the official side. But surely on the other side the people all over the Arab World are against any normalization with Jewish state for example: Egypt passed ten years having diplomatic relation with Jewish state but only four thousand individuals went on a visit to Jewish state among more than sixty millions. In Yemen the situation will be more worse: with the exception of forty Jewish individuals living now in Yemen in addition to official staff, no one will accept normalization. Our President said it many times, that if they force us to normalize with Jewish state, we will ask first about Palestinian state with Qudos as capital, Four million refugees abroad to go back to their native land and independent state with all means and power and characteristics as that of Jewish state on equal basis.
Islah Party Position
We ask the American here about Justice of peace they claim;
1-Why should 8 million Jews all over the world have the right to settle in Jewish state whenever they like and Four million Palestinians are not allowed to return back to their native land?
2-Why Jewish state have all means of defense including nuclear weapons meanwhile the Palestinians are deprived from any means of defense, not only that but all Arab states are not to have nuclear weapons, and more over US is looking for the unknown in Iraq and neglects the well known in Jewish state.
3-Why US forced the Palestinians to modify their program mainly elimination of Jewish state, but no demand for Jewish state to modify their program as they have a map of Great Israel From Nile to Ephuruty in their Parliament as well as in their currency? This means their children will grow up with hatred towards Arabs, and hope to get back their claimed land in future due to open and continuous immigration to Jewish state. A strong indication is settlements of Jews in claimed Palestinian state.
4-What kind of state will have the Palestinians as Jewish state grants Visa for those who come and those who go including Yaser Arafat the President? Not only that but also Jewish state have the priority to check traffic, goods, and inspection of every thing including human beings going in or out of Palestinian state? Is it municipality or independent state?
All those questions among others need clarification from United States, for all Yemeni People as well as political parties as I have already asked these questions to congress technical staff who visited the Parliament last month on behalf of all parties in the parliament including GPC.
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