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Palestinian Authority Says Hamas Is ‘Holding More than Two Million Palestinians Hostage’
A Palestinian Hamas terrorist shakes hands with a child as they stand guard as people gather on the day of the handover of Israeli hostages, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has never condemned the October 7 atrocities, and it even continues to defend them as “legitimate resistance.”
To be clear, any disapproval of Hamas by the PA is not about expressing criticism over the Israelis who were murdered, raped, tortured, and kidnapped on October 7. It has only to do with internal competition for favor among the Palestinian population, as Hamas has grown tremendously in popularity since October 7.
That is why the PA is currently lashing out at Hamas for continuing to fight at the expense of Palestinian civilians.
Through an article in its official daily, the PA complained that Hamas is using the Gazan civilian population as “human shields” and “holding more than 2 million Palestinians hostage.”
The headline of the article called on Hamas politicians to “close the gates of hell”:
Headline: “O Hamas politicians, close the gates of hell with rationality”
“None of us demands obedience and submission, as claimed by the Hamas politicians, but only a bit of rationality, realism, and an abandonment of the irresponsible behavior.
This is because our people in the Gaza Strip is paying the price of the hopeless behavior of the Hamas politicians, their political ignorance, and the lack of courage to make the most appropriate decision to stop the destruction campaign.
In reality, they are holding more than two million Palestinian residents hostage and using them as human shields to preserve their organization.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 20, 2025]
Also in an editorial, the PA accused Hamas of being trapped in an “illusion,” imagining that they are going to “safely” end the war and return to power through the Israeli hostages:
Over 50,000 female and male Martyrs [unverified casualty figures from Hamas and the PA] have not convinced Hamas to act wisely and escape the illusion that has overtaken it and still makes it imagine that the Israeli hostages in its possession are the way for its safe exit from this war and its return to the throne of power in the Gaza Strip!”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 19, 2025]
Moreover, the editorial expressed the opinion that Hamas can’t be part of the political plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip:
[We should be] demanding from Hamas that the Gaza Strip be out of its political plan, and that it not remain part of its ideology and project … In short, there is no reconstruction with Hamas.
Former General Political Commissioner of the PLO Political and National Guidance Authority Adnan Al-Damiri criticized Hamas along the same lines, calling for Allah to take revenge not only on Israel but also on Hamas who “with their stupidity and adventures” have destroyed the Gaza Strip:
Hamas presents the residents of the Gaza Strip with an alleged victory even before the liberation of Rafah, Jabaliya, Gaza, and Khan Yunis from the occupation [i.e., Israel], at a time when the people is uprooted and homeless in tents.
Your gift has been returned to you. Delight in the illusion that you have created with the blood of the children of Gaza. You presented your alleged victory to Iran and its leaders before the people of Gaza, and it did not benefit them at all …
O Allah, take revenge on those who oppressed Gaza, destroyed it, orphaned its children, widowed its women, and destroyed its homes with their weapons [i.e., Israel] or with their stupidity and adventures [i.e., Hamas].” [emphasis added]
[Adnan Al-Damiri, Facebook page, March 13, 2025]
The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.
The post Palestinian Authority Says Hamas Is ‘Holding More than Two Million Palestinians Hostage’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week
Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism
A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.
The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.
“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.
“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”
Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.
This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.
According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.
During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.
As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.
No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.
“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.
“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.
“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.
Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.
In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.
In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.
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Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution
German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.
“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”
“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.
The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.
Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.
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UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar
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
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.
The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.
The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.
The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.