Haaretz reports that Qatar-based sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi has allocated $21 million to a Hamas funded charity project in Jerusalem. The money is reportedly earmarked for the purchase of property and construction of infrastructure in the Holy City.
While specifics of the project have not been released, it is consistent with the Hamas call for a united Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state. As Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal asserts, Jerusalem is sacred to Islam and cannot be divided, only liberated.
Qaradawi’s support for Hamas is consistent with his past record. He is perhaps best known for a fatwa (religious edict) justifying Palestinian suicide bombings and has called the Holocaust “divine punishment” for the Jews.
