Israeli Communications Minister Ayoub Kara (Likud) has praised the senior Saudi Arabian Islamic authority for his condemnation of war and murder of Jews, and invited him to visit Israel.
“We congratulate Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, as well as the head of Ulema (Islamic scholars) for his fatwa forbidding the fight against the Jews and forbidding their murder,” Kara wrote on his official Twitter account. He added, “I invite the mufti to visit Israel; he will be welcomed with a high level of respect.”
Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al-Sheikh made the remarks in response to a question during a recent television program, according to a report published by Turkey’s Daily Sabah.
The mufti said fighting against Israel was inappropriate and that Hamas was a “terror organization” when asked about the violence in July over the temporary closure of the Temple Mount following a deadly terror attack resulting in the deaths of two police officers.
Saudi Arabia is locked in a political struggle with Iran due to its perception that Tehran’s drove towards a nuclear weapon has created an existential threat to the entire region, including Riyadh. Hamas has become an Iranian proxy, along with the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group, and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerrilla organization.