Salim Al-Zre’i, a Fatah Revolutionary Council member who was an associate of late PLO founder Yasser Arafat, admitted that Palestinians only arrived in Israel 400 years after the start of the Ottoman Empire’s occupation of the region.
Abbas’ advisor: Palestinians “have been in this land even before something known as the Hebrews existed”
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “The Palestinian people’s existence has not been cut off, it has not been cut off for the past 6,000 years, since the time of the Canaanites, and even before the Canaanites. We have been in this land even before something known as the Hebrews existed, or even before our lord Abraham arrived in this land... The Gaza Strip… was built by the Canaanites even before the arrival of our lord Abraham, and the Palestinians settled in it long before the Israelis knew anything about this holy and blessed land.” [PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, April 9, 2025]
Mahmoud Al-Habbash also serves as PA Supreme Shari’ah Judge and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice.