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Don’t Trust What the Palestinian Authority Says About Hamas
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) alongside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, July 26, 2023. Photo: Reuters/Palestinian Presidents’ Office
The Palestinian Authority (PA) received much attention over the weekend for having condemned Hamas. However, it is important to recognize that the Fatah statement was not a condemnation or an attempt to distance itself from the atrocities of October 7– nor from Hamas terror in general.
Instead, the message was merely an issue of internal politics, and was a response to a Hamas statement that attacked Mahmoud Abbas.
Regarding the October 7 atrocities, the PA and Fatah have emphasized that they are proud to have never condemned Hamas.
Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor for Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash explained:
From the leadership, from President Mahmoud Abbas to the last of the people in the Palestinian leadership — has anyone heard from us one word against the Hamas Movement or against any Palestinian? [emphasis added]
[Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Nov. 6, 2023]
On the contrary, the PA and Fatah have consistently defended, justified, and glorified the October 7 massacre.
Fatah Jenin branch member Abd Al-Rahman Abu Al-Rub gloated:
We say to our people and to the members of the Palestinian people: A morning of victory, and morning of joy, a morning of pride. We ask Allah to send a blessing to our heroic Martyrs in the Gaza Strip … We [call] to all our brothers and to all our Palestinian people that they are compelled to take action and participate in this story of heroism. [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Oct. 8, 2023]
At the end of November, when everyone knew the details of the horrific rapes, torture, and slaughter, Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub described the October 7 massacre as heroic:
What happened on October 7 was an earthquake, an unprecedented incident, and a war of defense full of epics and acts of heroism that the Palestinian people has been waging for 75 years. [emphasis added]
[Al-Anba, Kuwaiti news website, Nov. 26, 2023]
Fatah Secretary in Holland Zaid Tyam waxed ecstatic:
“Our people in the Gaza Strip and our people in Palestine made our heads touch the clouds … We all bow in honor and appreciation to this lofty people.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Nov. 7, 2023]
The criticism of Hamas that was expressed by Fatah was for a specific reason. Hamas had criticized Mahmoud Abbas for appointing a close personal associate as the new prime minister, without discussing this with Hamas.
In response, Fatah stressed that Abbas has the sole right to appoint a prime minister, and went on to criticize Hamas for what it called the destruction of the Gaza Strip caused by Israel’s military response. This was clearly an issue of internal politics:
The Palestinian National Liberation Movement ‘Fatah’ emphasized that the one who caused the re-occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel and caused the Nakba that our people are undergoing, especially in the Gaza Strip, is not eligible to dictate the national priorities…Did Hamas consult with the Palestinian leadership or with any patriotic Palestinian party when it decided to set out on the October 7 adventure, which led to a more severe and difficult Nakba than the 1948 Nakba? Did Hamas consult with the Palestinian leadership when it is currently negotiating with Israel and making concession after concession, with the only goal being receiving guarantees for the personal safety of its leaders, and also to attempt to again reach an agreement with [Israeli PM] Netanyahu to preserve its divisive role in the Palestinian Gaza Strip and West Bank?
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 16, 2024]
Many in the international community may try to use such criticism of Hamas by the PA to lend the PA legitimacy. Israel is being pressured to have the PA serve as the governing body of Gaza to replace Hamas the “day after” the war.
It is therefore essential to recognize that notwithstanding this condemnation, the PA has not condemned Hamas terrorism, and has repeatedly invited Hamas to join the PLO and the next PA government. Just at the beginning of this month, the same PA daily wrote:
There is no alternative to national unity [with Hamas] — not unity of arenas, and not another unity. Here the PLO is opening its gates wide to anyone who wants national unity, with its strategic meaning and goals, which are certainly the goals of Palestine … and of the liberation project, the project of the Palestinian state from Rafah to Jenin, whose capital is East Jerusalem.
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 5, 2024]
Again, Abbas’ Religious Affairs Advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash also said:
Nationally speaking, not one of us is talking about excluding Hamas or others … Indeed, there is a disagreement between us and Hamas; that is true, but this disagreement does not reach the level of exclusion.
We are not excluders, and Hamas is part of the Palestinian people and an important part, and an extensive part of the Palestinian people supports the Hamas Movement. We do not deny this. [emphasis added]
[Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, March 3, 2024]
While the international community may be tempted to think that the PA is suddenly a peace partner and rejects terror just because it criticized Hamas, the reality is that the PA/Fatah has repeatedly defended Hamas’ October 7 atrocities.
Fatah and Hamas squabbling for political power does not erase the PA’s terror support.
Itamar Marcus is Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Don’t Trust What the Palestinian Authority Says About Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.