by Itamar Marcus
Fatah Spokesman says that Oct. was "legitimate resistance" but a mistake because of the resulting ongoing attack on Gaza.
Abbas' advisor: Even though Oct. 7 was "legitimate resistance", the "catastrophic consequences" for Gaza makes it an "illegitimate thing"
Fatah spokesman presents Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre as a Palestinian "mistake," only because it enabled Israel to exploit it to destroy Gaza
One of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' top aides, his Advisor on Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash, still celebrates Hamas' massacre and slaughter of over 1,100 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023 as "legitimate resistance." To be sure he is not misunderstood, he uses the word "legitimate" five times in reference to the Oct. 7 massacre.
Al-Habbash then adds that the only problem with Oct. 7 is the "catastrophic consequences" of 60,000 killed Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which makes "what Hamas carried out illegitimate":
Al-Habbash: "What happened on Oct. 7, [2023,] what Hamas carried out on Oct. 7 (i.e., Hamas' massacre and atrocities), I start from the assumption that resistance is legitimate. We agreed from the start that the resistance is legitimate, and no one can dispute the legitimacy of the resistance... What happened on Oct. 7 is a legitimate thing, okay? It's legitimate, but its consequences? …60,000 people were killed, 150,000 were wounded, and 90% of the Gaza Strip was destroyed. This makes the thing illegitimate. Therefore, what Hamas carried out in terms of its consequences is illegitimate because it led to catastrophic consequences."
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, YouTube channel, March 11, 2025]
This terror support echoes past statements by PA Chairman Abbas himself explaining that the reason the PA has not renewed violent conflict with Israel since the second Intifada (the PA's terror campaign 2000-2005) was not because Abbas opposes violence, but because the Palestinians were not prepared militarily and because a war would heavily damage the infrastructure of the Palestinian areas:
Abbas: "We tried the [second] Intifada (i.e., PA terror campaign 2000-2005, more than 1,100 Israelis murdered) in 2000, and it destroyed everything that we had built. If the Arabs would want to fight, we'd be the first to fight. I told them at the [Arab] Summit in Sirt [Libya]: ‘If you want war, take the lead.' It's not possible for us [Palestinians] to go ahead alone; they must be first, with us behind them."
[Al-Ayyam, independent Palestinian newspaper, Sept. 6, 2010]
Similarly to Al-Habbash, a spokesman of Abbas' party Fatah, Iyad Abu Zneit, stated that "if Oct. 7 hadn't happened," the Gaza Strip would not have been destroyed. He did not blame Hamas, though. Rather, he blamed Israel, claiming that Israel "is always waiting for [Palestinian] mistakes":
Fatah Spokesman Iyad Abu Zneit: "If Israel could have not left any Palestinian alive in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip since 1967, it would have done so. Israel is always waiting for [Palestinian] mistakes. For example, after Oct. 7, [2023,] Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and carried out this destruction in the Gaza Strip. If Oct. 7 hadn't happened, this wouldn't have happened."
[Al-Hadath TV, YouTube channel, March 19, 2025]
The PA has never expressed criticism of the terror and atrocities of Oct 7. It has only criticized Hamas for the destruction it has brought in its wake.
Itamar Marcus
Source: https://palwatch.org/page/37064
No comments:
Post a Comment