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Palestinian Authority PM: Oct. 7 Was ‘Daring Operation’ and ‘Unprecedented in History’
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas (L) , with then-PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh sitting next to him, delivers a speech, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Jan. 28, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Raneen Sawafta / File.
When former Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister and Fatah Central Committee member Muhammad Shtayyeh recently was asked about Hamas’ massacre and atrocities against Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, he smilingly described how he woke up on Oct. 7 to “indescribable scenes.”
But the word “indescribable” did not reflect any horror or rejection of the Hamas terrorists’ murder, rape, and torture of Israelis civilians.
Instead, what was beyond description for then-PA Prime Minister Shtayyeh was the sight of Hamas’ success:
Former PA Prime Minister and Fatah Central Committee member Muhammad Shtayyeh: “I woke up [on Oct. 7, 2023] and… [saw] indescribable scenes: paragliders, border breaches, motorcycles in action, bodies lying around, fires here and there, people returning from the 1948 borders [i.e., Israel] [to the Gaza Strip], people loading things…
The news initially spoke of the killing of 1,400 Israelis within 24 hours. The battle continues, airstrikes, enormous confusion, surprise in Israel.”
[Al-Arabiya TV, YouTube channel, July 29, 2025]
Asked how he would define “the Oct. 7 operation,” Shtayyeh continued to marvel at it, praising it as “daring” and “an important chapter” in Palestinian history.
Next, Shtayyeh continued to endorse the terror attack as “self-defense.”
When asked whether the PA had “condemned Oct. 7,” he answered that the PA had issued a statement saying that “the Palestinian people has the right to defend itself”:
Muhammad Shtayyeh: “In a meeting held on Oct. 7, we [the PA] issued a statement, and one sentence was added to the statement: ‘The Palestinian people has the right to defend itself.’
All the official Palestinian entities, our ambassadors, our ministers, the [PA] presidential office spokesperson, and [I] the prime minister, everyone, all of us were asked one question. The first question that every journalist and every official element opened with was: “Do you condemn Oct. 7?”
And we used to answer in the same way: That the Palestinian people’s tragedy did not start on Oct. 7, that the Palestinian issue is 76 years old, since 1948, and therefore these are cumulative events, and in any case we believed that the matter [Oct.7] is one of the chapters of the struggle, and one of the chapters of the conflict.” …
Al-Arabiya TV host:“How would you define the Oct. 7 operation now?”
Muhammad Shtayyeh: “Look, the Oct. 7 operation is a daring operation, unprecedented in history, honestly, and it is an important chapter in the history of the Palestinian struggle.” [emphasis added]
[Al-Arabiya TV, YouTube channel, July 29, 2025]
The author is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this story first appeared.
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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.