A high-ranking Palestinian official made the shocking comment over the weekend that the October 7 Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis—mostly civilians—was “part of a defensive war on the part of the Palestinians.” Jibril Rajoub, secretary for the Central Committee of Fatah—the ruling party of the allegedly moderate Palestinian Authority—claimed Israel’s actions over the last 75 years were the trigger for the Hamas terror assault that included the kidnapping of Israeli women, children and elderly civilians.
The Palestinian Authority, which has received millions of dollars of support from the international community and which is still supported as the leadership of a hypothetical Palestinian state, has infamously failed to condemn the worst killing of Jews since the Holocaust. On the contrary, Rajoub—whose interview with MBC Egypt was quoted by Al-Quds Al-Arabi and translated from Arabic by Google Translate—further warned that October 7 was only “the beginning of explosions.” He said the “next and most violent explosion” would be in Judea and Samaria (which the Palestinians call the “West Bank”). The Palestinian Authority rules the West Bank and maintains Palestinian security forces there. Said Rejoub, “There will be violence in the West Bank.”
Rajoub also offered support for the Hamas terror group that has committed numerous war crimes, including using Palestinians as human shields in the conflict with Israel. In the interview, Rajoub said Hamas “was and will remain” part of the Palestinian “national, struggle and political fabric.”
The stunning comments come after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last month blamed Israel for the Hamas carnage in a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to report from the Palestinian Authority-linked WAFA news agency. In the meantime, the Americans and Europe continue to say the Palestinian Authority should lead Gaza after Hamas is defeated.
United States President Joe Biden, in a November 18 op-ed in The Washington Post, called for a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority to take control of Gaza. Echoing that view, European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday in public comments posted to her office’s website that there should be an independent Palestinian state with the West Bank and Gaza “reunited and governed by a reformed Palestinian Authority.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, reiterated his view on November 22 about who should not be allowed to rule Gaza. Without naming the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu listed multiple troubling actions committed by the Palestinian Authority as disqualifying.
“We will continue until we achieve all of our goals: Return all of the hostages, eliminate Hamas and ensure that on the day after Hamas, no element that supports terrorism, educates its children for terrorism, and pays terrorists or their families, will control Gaza,” said Netanyahu in Hebrew comments published and translated by Israel. “Gaza will no longer constitute a threat to Israel.”
Previously, Netanyahu has pointed to the Palestinian Authority’s comments about the October 7 massacre as one more reason why that group cannot be allowed to rule Gaza. “My goal is that the day after we destroy Hamas, any future civil administration in Gaza does not deny the massacre… and does not tell its children that their ultimate goal in life is to see the destruction and dissolution of the State of Israel,” said Netanyahu on November 19 in comments published by Israel. “That’s not acceptable and that is not the way to achieve peace.” (By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, November 26, 2023