Muslim scholars call for protests to support Palestine

By Hussein Mahmoud Ragab Elkabany and Gulsen Topcu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Doha-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) on Saturday called for protests in countries worldwide in support of Palestinians' right to return to their homes.

"Palestinian refugees demand to return to the lands where they were deported from in 1948 is their basic and legal demand which cannot be erased by the passing years," according to a statement issued by the group.

The group condemned Israel's crimes in Palestine and said the option of "submission" was a kind of preparation for a “Deal of the Century” -- an alleged back-channel U.S. plan to decisively settle the perennial Palestine-Israel dispute.

Normalization with Israel cannot sweep Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homes under the carpet at a time when Israeli sieges and settlements are on the rise, it said.

The group urged people in countries worldwide to organize protests on the squares and in front of embassies and consulates to support Palestine.