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Yunis Al Astal | |
|---|---|
| Member of thePalestinian Legislative Council | |
| Constituency | Khan Yunis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1956 (age 68–69) |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Political party | Hamas |
| Occupation | Preacher |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Al-Qassam Brigades |
Yunis Al Astal (Arabic:يونس الأسطل; born 1956) is a preacher andHamasmember of thePalestinian Legislative Council for the area ofKhan Yunis.[1][2] He writes on topics such asIslamic law (fiqh), sociology and politics.
Born inKhan Yunis, Palestine, in 1956, he obtained his master's and doctorate degrees from the Faculty of Sharia at theUniversity of Jordan inAmman.
He participated in several jurisprudential conferences, most notably:
He worked as a lecturer at theIslamic University in Gaza, then as dean of the Faculty of Sharia, then as head of the university's Fatwa Committee. He is a regular columnist in Al-Risala newspaper published by theHamas movement in Gaza. He also serves as a Treasurer of the Zakat al-Rahma Committee in Khan Younis
Al Astal is the founder and head of Al-Huda Islamic Model Schools and head of the Adalah Arbitration Foundation in Khan Younis. He also participates in the programs onAl-Aqsa TV.
In 2006, he was identified as a member of theAl-Qassam Brigades by theKonrad Adenauer Foundation.[2]
On the occasion of PopeBenedict XVI's visit to Jordan and Israel, he stated that Arab governments welcoming the Pope harmed the Prophet Mohammed more than the pontiff's allegedly controversial remarks about the founder of Islam.[3]
In 2009, Al Astal came under controversy fordenying the Holocaust, criticizing theUN Reliefs and Works Agency for planning to teach about the genocide in Gaza's school curriculum. Al Astal said that adding the Holocaust would amount to “marketing a lie and spreading it..." and claimed teaching the subject to Palestinian children was a "war crime, because of how it serves theZionist colonizers and deals with their hypocrisy and lies..."[4][5]
TheMiddle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) translated his sermon and posted the video for paid subscribers on the Internet.[6]
In an interview withAl-Aqsa TV on May 11, 2011 which was translated byMEMRI TV he said:
"The [Jews] are brought in droves to Palestine so that the Palestinians – and the Islamic nation behind them – will have the honor of annihilating the evil of this gang."
"…All the predators, all the birds of prey, all the dangerous reptiles and insects, and all the lethal bacteria are far less dangerous than the Jews."[7]
"…In just a few years, all the Zionists and the settlers will realize that their arrival in Palestine was for the purpose of the great massacre, by means of which Allah wants to relieve humanity of their evil."
"…When Palestine is liberated and its people return to it, and the entire region, with the grace of Allah, will have turned into the United States of Islam, the land of Palestine will become the capital of the Islamic Caliphate, and all these countries will turn into states within the Caliphate."[8]
He was named on thelist of individuals banned from entering the United Kingdom for "... engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to terrorist acts".[9]
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