BEIRUT (The Daily Star) -- Hamas movement political official in Lebanon, Ali Barakah has saluted senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah’s recent stance to consider Palestine as an “Arab Islamic land that we cannot give away.”

In a statement on Sunday Fadlallah said resistance was “the strategic choice” to liberate Palestine and regain Palestinian rights. In the same statement the cleric issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, banning the normalization of ties with Israel. “Normalization with the Zionist enemy, in any form, is prohibited by Sharia (Islamic law),” Fadlallah said. Barakah also praised Future Movement leader Saad Hariri’s plan to grant Palestinian refugees in Lebanon their civil rights.
“Such a decision opens the door for a new solution to the Palestinian dossier in Lebanon and all its political, human, judicial, and security aspects,” the Hamas official added. During Ramadan iftar banquets, Hariri had reiterated that the Palestinian cause remained the “major concern and challenge for Arabs.