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PA Goal: Unity with Hamas and Islamic Jihad Terror Organizations
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
There are many question about will happen to, and who will rule, the Gaza Strip after Israel has destroyed Hamas’ terror infrastructure.
For their part, the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s Fatah leaders are confident that the PA and Fatah will unite with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations and rule Gaza together.
Some PA and Fatah leaders have been adamant about joining forces with the terror organizations.
Jibril Rajoub, a top PA official and Fatah Central Committee Secretary, speaking in the name of Mahmoud Abbas, the PA leadership, and the PLO Executive Committee, has repeatedly stressed the PA’s goal of uniting with Hamas and Islamic Jihad — which he whitewashes as “political Islam” – against Israel:
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub calls for unity:
“We say to our brothers in Hamas: We stand before a great turning point … The time has come for us [Fatah and Hamas] to reach a compromise. I call on them, on behalf of the Palestinian [PA] leadership, [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas, and the PLO Executive Committee — we say to them [Hamas]: Come build a political rapprochement regarding the international project, and build rapprochement regarding the struggle around a strategic option that could reap these achievements, which include an international turning point in world opinion about us and about our cause … We say to our brothers in Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement — the ball is in your court”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Dec. 17, 2023]
Rajoub also says that the PA won’t rule Gaza without Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations.
Jibril Rajoub: “Political Islam [i.e., Hamas] has been part of our political and social fabric and the fabric of our struggle, and it still is, and it will remain, period. … We will not go to [govern] the Gaza Strip without national agreement that will include political Islam, whether it is our brothers in Hamas or our brothers in [Islamic] Jihad. This is impossible.”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Dec. 14, 2023]
Rajoub has also said that Hamas is “part of the fabric of our struggle”:
Jibril Rajoub: “We view political Islam, and foremost among it the Hamas Movement, as part of the fabric of our struggle and our political and social fabric. We must preserve our achievements, we are a liberation project, and we are all potential Martyrs.”
[Al-Anba, Kuwaiti news website, Nov. 26, 2023]
He has also called the Oct. 7 massacre a “battle of heroism”:
Jibril Rajoub: “We hope that our brothers in Hamas will do a political rapprochement, a rapprochement regarding the struggle, and an organizational rapprochement, so that we will reach a compromise … What happened on Oct. 7 [2023] was a great earthquake and returned the Palestinian cause to the global agenda…
Fatah and [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas — despite all the pressures, and perhaps a number of things happened that didn’t have to happen — we have not condemned and not denounced [Hamas’ attack], and we have also not closed the door of unity on our brothers in political Islam.We say to them: We view you as part of the social fabric, the fabric of the struggle, and the Palestinian political and national fabric.”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Dec. 16, 2023]
“Rajoub said that ‘the Al-Aqsa Flood’ operation and the Palestinian resistance’s attack on Oct. 7 [2023], which Hamas’ military wing, the Martyr Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, launched against the occupation’s settlements [sic., towns in sovereign Israel], is ‘an additional battle of heroism and a war of defense in the 75-year history of the Palestinian resistance.’
He added that the Palestinians need to make collective decisions through joint support for the resistance [i.e., terror].’”
[Wattan, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 22, 2023]
Rajoub has also stressed that terror organizations will unite under the PLO/PA:
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “The PLO [is] the sole legitimate representative of the [Palestinian] people. This is an achievement that we will not relinquish.
Of course, the PLO needs reorganization so that it will become the umbrella organization of all the Palestinians and of all the national action factions, including the [factions of] political Islam … The PA … also needs a reexamination, so that it will be a national unity government that will be responsible for all the Palestinians in all the Palestinian territories.”
[Ma’an, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 14, 2023]
This was echoed by Fatah official Muhammad Al-Hourani:
Fatah Revolutionary Council member Muhammad Al-Hourani: “We believe Hamas that it is taking action for the freedom of the land. Therefore we, Hamas, and all the Palestinian factions must think deeply and seriously about realizing the unity of the Palestinian arena under the flag of the PLO.”
[Al-Arabiya TV (Saudi Arabia), YouTube channel, Dec. 27, 2023]
Another top PA official who has called for unity with Hamas is Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs, Mahmoud Al-Habbash. Throughout the war, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has exposed Al-Habbash’s emphasis on the PA’s support for Hamas and its massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, and its continued war against Israel — a support he has garnished with antisemitic teachings about Jews.
Al-Habbash: PA and Fatah’s “hands are extended, hearts are open” to Hamas to unite:
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash:
“The occupation [i.e., Israel] is the cause of every problem … Now more than ever, we need to end the matter of the internal [Fatah-Hamas] conflict. Our hands are extended, our hearts are open, and our chests are open to every Palestinian voice that wants to put the internal Palestinian home in order, because this is necessary to strengthen our position.”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Dec. 24, 2023]
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “More than ever we must put our internal home in order. The time has come for everyone to once and for all announce the end of the [Fatah-Hamas] rift to unite the Palestinian internal front against this [Israeli] aggression.”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Dec. 12, 2023]
PLO Executive Committee Secretary Hussein Al-Sheikh repeated Abbas’ support for Hamas, stressing Abbas defended Hamas at the UN by claiming it is “not a terror organization”:
“Hamas is not a terror movement,” PLO official cites PA Chairman Abbas’ defense of Hamas
Al-Jazeera TV interviewer: “A poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) showed Palestinian support for the Resistance [i.e., Hamas] and a regression in the popularity of the PA, and President Abbas in particular. How do you view this, considering that you have stated that Hamas is not a role model?” …
PLO Executive Committee Secretary Hussein Al-Sheikh: “I didn’t say that Hamas is not a role model … When the world spoke and demanded that Hamas be defined as a terror movement — who set out against the world? Was it not Mahmoud Abbas, who stood at the UN podium and said: ‘No, Hamas is not a terror movement’! The real terror is the occupation [i.e., Israel]. The real terror is the settlement enterprise.”
[Former Head of Fatah Commission of Information and Culture’s Information Office Munir Al-Jaghoub, X (Twitter) account, Dec. 19, 2023]
Right from the beginning of the war, immediately after Hamas’ massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, PMW has reported on PA officials around the world expressing support for the Oct 7 terror attack. Another example is PLO Ambassador to South Africa Hanan Jarrar:
PLO Ambassador to South Africa Hanan Jarrar (in English): “As Palestinians we are one. Hamas, Fatah, [Islamic] Jihad, other political parties, either in the Left or the Right – we are one, we are Palestinians, and this is democracy… So why when it comes to Palestine we have to denounce one of our political factions [i.e., Hamas], that according to international law they are doing the right thing? International law says that when any country is under occupation, they have all the right to use all the measures, instruments available to defend themselves…
The Palestinian leadership has been subjected to numerous and huge pressure to denounce what’s going on right now, and we are not denouncing it and we will never ever denounce a major component of our people defending the interest of the Palestinian people.”
[Hilaal TV (South Africa), YouTube channel, Oct. 11, 2023]
Top PLO official Rawhi Fattouh emphasized PA Chairman Abbas’ instructions of continued financial support to Hamas-ruled Gaza, promising to prioritize “sending” money there.
Rawhi Fattouh made this statement in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the PA cannot take control of the Gaza Strip following the 2023 Gaza war, given that the PA pays salaries to terrorists and refuses to condemn Hamas’ massacre in Israel on Oct. 7.
Palestinian National Council Chairman Rawhi Fattouh: “As [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas noted at a conference and also before the Palestinian [PA] leadership, if we are left with one penny we will send it to the Gaza Strip.
Neither [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu nor anyone else will stop us from spending money on our residents and our people in the Gaza Strip … Therefore, we Palestinians, our position is unified and united, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem are one body.”
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, Nov. 12, 2023]
Continued financial support for Hamas-ruled Gaza has also been stressed by PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh:
PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh: “We did not relinquish the Gaza Strip, and we will not relinquish the Gaza Strip, because they are our people … We are giving the Gaza Strip $1.7 billion from the Palestinian [PA] budget per year, which we spend on the Gaza Strip.”
[Al-Araby TV (Qatar-based), YouTube channel, Dec. 10, 2023]
Similarly, senior PLO/Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmad stated he had “received instructions from Abbas to make contact with Hamas”:
“Senior PLO official Azzam Al-Ahmad informed [Saudi state-owned] Al-Arabiya TV that he received instructions from Palestinian [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas to make contact with Hamas.
Al-Ahmad … made contact with [Hamas Political Bureau member] Musa Abu Marzouq and [Hamas Political Bureau Chairman] Ismail Haniyeh, and expressed hope of holding an additional conversation with Haniyeh…
He added that the PLO did not set conditions for entering an agreement with the other Palestinian sides … He also noted that all the factions need to be under the PLO framework.”
[Al-Arabiya TV website (Saudi Arabia), Dec. 15, 2023]
Others have also shown their connection to terror organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad — their “brothers” — and called for unity, stating that there are “no disagreements between Hamas and Fatah”:
Fatah Jenin Branch Secretary Ata Abu Rmeileh: “In the name of all the national and Islamic forces we announce a general strike in all aspects of life, in all of Palestine. Here are the brothers from the Islamic Jihad, Fatah, Hamas.”
[Fatah Movement – Bethlehem Branch, Telegram channel, Oct. 31, 2023]
Fatah Spokesman Jamal Nazzal: “Currently there are no disagreements between Hamas and Fatah. We now agree that a ceasefire is the joint goal … From the moment that a ceasefire will be achieved, we must outline a joint political plan and a joint path that will unite us, and through which we will draw conclusions from the recent past. This is the goal that we will put on the table the moment the ceasefire is achieved.”
[Al-Jazeera TV, YouTube channel, Dec. 24, 2023]
Fatah official calls for Fatah-Hamas unity “because after the Gaza Strip [the Israelis] will move on to the West Bank”
Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki:
“What is needed now after Oct. 7 [2023] is to reexamine all the policies and to have a new strategy whose basis is Palestinian unity. I think the door has been opened so that we will all be united, because after the Gaza Strip they [the Israelis] will move on to the West Bank.”
[Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, Facebook page, Nov. 17, 2023]
Palestinian civilians in the West Bank have also expressed their support for Hamas and their desire for Hamas rule:
West Bankers praise Hamas, call for terror: “Actions … that will restore the glory to the religion … Death for Allah”
The image above shows celebrations in Nablus for female prisoners released in a prisoner exchange deal starting on Nov. 24, 2023, between Israel and Hamas during the 2023 Gaza war, in which terrorist prisoners were released in exchange for Israeli hostages. The crowd is seen waving green Hamas flags.
PMW has exposed similar calls in support for Hamas by students in the West Bank.
The post PA Goal: Unity with Hamas and Islamic Jihad Terror Organizations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.