The Palestinian Authority (PA) knows perfectly well how to condemn terror attacks on other Arabs. When terror is carried out against Jews, however, it is the fault of the Jews.

In the most recent example, Mahmoud Abbas’ senior advisor, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, used the PA’s official news agency to publicize his fierce condemnation of the Islamist bombing of a mosque in Syria as a “cowardly, heinous act.”

However, when a Palestinian terrorist murdered two Israelis on the same day, Israel was “the one responsible for any action or violent reaction in the region,” according to Abbas’ advisor.

PA condemns terror attack in Syria

Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash offered condolences to Syrian Minister of Endowments Mohammed Abu Al-Khair Shukri over the victims of the heinous terror bombing at the Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the city of Homs …

Al-Habbash strongly condemned this cowardly heinous act … He also emphasized that terror is directed against the entire [Islamic] nation and requires a united stance to confront it and dry up its sources.

[WAFA, official PA news agency, Dec. 27, 2025]

PA condemns Israel for Palestinian terror attack in Israel

Egyptian Al-Qahera News TV host:“What is the message that Israel needs to understand behind such operations, and this operation in particular [i.e., terrorist murdered 2 Israelis]?” …

Mahmoud Al-Habbash:“The first and last one responsible for incidents of this kind is the Israeli policy. ... The one responsible for any action or violent reaction [i.e., terror attack] in the region is the Israeli policy … They are the ones who are guilty and they are the ones who bear responsibility, and they must conduct a self-examination. [emphasis added]

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, YouTube channel, Dec. 26, 2025]

The official PA daily likewise refused to condemn the murderous terror attack by Palestinians.

An item about each attack was featured on the very same page of Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. The attack in Israel was framed as an “operation.” Responsibility was shifted almost immediately from the act of terror itself to Israel’s counter-terror action, with the headline emphasizing that “the occupation launches extensive aggression against Qabatiya,” from where the terrorist originated.

There was no condemnation, no expression of sympathy for the victims, and no rejection of violence, as there was with the attack in Syria. This is significant because Abbas has repeatedly told Western leaders that he condemns Palestinian terror and he has been praised for it.

In fact, his supposed condemnation of terror was one of the things for which he received praise from French President Macron. Palestinian Media Watch has stressed repeatedly that Abbas has never condemned Palestinian terror, nor the October 7 atrocities; rather, he has merely regretted their negative impact on Gaza.

Headline: “Two Israelis killed and 6 wounded between Beit Shean and Afula, the occupation launches extensive aggression against Qabatiya”

Two Israelis were killed and six wounded between Beit Shean and Afula in the northern 1948 territories [i.e., Israel] in a ramming and stabbing incident, according to the Israeli occupation police. Hebrew media outlets said that the dual operation in Beit Shean occurred in three locations, and that a woman was stabbed to death, another person was run over to death, and six others were wounded. The occupation police said in a statement that the one who carried out the operation is from the town of Qabatiya south of Jenin, and that he was shot and wounded and evacuated to the hospital in moderate condition.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 27, 2025]

In the report on the attack in Syria, however, the difference is striking. The PA presidential office issued a full, unequivocal condemnation of “the terror incident.” It stressed that it “denounces and rejects all forms of violence and terror,” quoted the Quran, expressed solidarity with Syria’s leadership and people, offered condolences to the victims’ families, and wished the wounded a speedy recovery.

Headline: “The [PA] presidential office condemns the terror incident in which a mosque was blown up in Homs”

The [PA] presidential office condemned the terror incident against the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi Al-Dhahab neighborhood in Homs, Syria, which claimed several victims and wounded. The presidential office emphasized that it denounces and rejects all forms of violence and terror. It expressed solidarity with the people and leadership of the sister Syrian Republic, and support for sister Syria in this painful event. It recalled the Quranic verse: “And who are more unjust than those who prevent the name of Allah from being mentioned in His mosques and strive toward their destruction’” [Quran 2:114, Sahih International translation].

The presidential office expressed its sincerest condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded. It wished Syria and the Syrian people perpetual stability and prosperity.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 27, 2025]

When terror strikes anywhere in the Arab world other than Israel, the Palestinian Authority knows exactly how to respond. It uses the word terror. It condemns. It empathizes. It invokes moral and religious language. It stands with the victims. This is a far cry from what the PA does when the victims are Jews.

The Palestinian Authority’s claim that it opposes “all forms of violence and terror” is therefore a demonstrable lie. For the PA, terror is only terror when the victims are not Jews.

Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is the Founder and Director of PMW, where a version of this article first appeared.