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A Palestinian Authority (PA) official reportedly predicted that President-elect Donald Trump will “destroy Iran” and that Tehran’s weakening will successfully break down the remaining Hamas terror cells.
Mohammad Hamdan, secretary-general of the PA’s ruling Fatah Party, reportedly made the feedback to the New York Post on Dec. 19 throughout a gathering between the outlet and different high PA leaders in Nablus, about an hour south of the West Bank metropolis of Jenin, the place Western-backed PA forces have launched safety operations in opposition to armed extremists aligned with Hamas this month.
The Post first reported the dialog on Monday.
“We are confronting Hamas’ ideology. Our downside is with Hamas’ hyperlink to regimes exterior Palestine,” Hamdan advised the Post, referencing Iran particularly.
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“We see that Trump and the ruling authorities in Israel are planning to destroy Iran, so Hamas [followers] can have no different selection than to develop into Palestinian,” he added.
A gaggle of greater than a dozen extremists stole two PA automobiles and paraded them down the streets of Jenin whereas waving Hamas and ISIS flags on Dec. 6, in line with the Post.
Since then, PA forces have killed a minimum of three extremists within the West Bank city and have vowed to arrest or “eradicate” the remaining folks accountable.
Fatah suffered a significant defeat within the 2006 election, leading to rival Hamas seizing management of the Gaza Strip, hardening Islamic-extremist rule and launching repeated assaults on Israel.
The tipping level got here when Hamas terrorists launched their coordinated assault on southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, killing greater than 1,200 folks and taking greater than 250 hostages.
As Israel has decimated Hamas within the Gaza Strip since then, the PA, which is backed by the U.S. and different Western governments, seems to be positioning itself to renew governance of Gaza as soon as the conflict ends.
“Hamas rejects worldwide legitimacy, that means UN resolutions,” Hamdan mentioned. “The world can’t settle for a state of affairs the place a party doesn’t settle for worldwide resolutions.”
Hamas and different Islamic extremist teams have sown mistrust of the PA, accusing it of coordinating carefully with Israel on previous safety raids on Jenin.
The Jewish state prior to now has cracked down on Jenin, which has lengthy been thought-about a terrorist stronghold. The PA safety forces had till not too long ago little presence there till its new safety operations this month.
A big banner depicting Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas hangs as supporters of the Fatah motion rally forward of the sixtieth anniversary of its institution and in assist of the Palestinian Authority’s safety operation within the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees on Dec. 29, 2024. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP through Getty Images)
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At least three PA safety power members have been killed, together with a captain within the intelligence providers, throughout armed clashes with extremists, The Associated Press reported. The PA has arrested dozens of individuals.
The Post mentioned the PA leaders they interviewed condemned Israel’s elevated settlements within the West Bank however mentioned they supported the Jewish state’s proper to exist.
Hamdan additionally reportedly advised the Post that PA President Mahmoud Abbas – who slammed Israel and the United States earlier than the United Nations General Assembly earlier this yr – “nonetheless helps lifelike relations with the Americans in an effort to obtain the aspirations of the Palestinians.” However, the secretary-general additionally argued that failed U.S. international coverage within the Middle East was chargeable for rising Islamic extremism.
Palestinian safety forces march with the physique of Ibrahim Qaddoumi, a Palestinian Authority member killed throughout armed clashes between Palestinian safety forces and gunmen within the Jenin refugee camp, on Dec. 27, 2024 in Nablus, West Bank. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket through Getty Images)
“Look what occurred in Syria. First, the U.S. declared the rebels to be al Qaeda, after which [last week] an American delegation visited Syria,” Hamdan advised the Post. “And the one earlier than that, when the Americans struck offers with the Taliban in Afghanistan. We as Palestinians imagine that the majority of those extremist Islamic teams are produced by America by its effort to create a brand new Middle East.”
On the difficulty of post-war Gaza governance, one Israeli official advised the Post that the PA remained an possibility however would wish to cease “the corruption” and “funding terrorism” on Israeli settlers within the West financial institution.
The official acknowledged although that the PA may have “a traditionally unprecedented alternative” to return to its management of the Palestinian territories.
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The PA’s opposition to Hamas may present distinctive leverage to “take part in day-after talks,” the Israeli official added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
