A Palestinian Authority (PA) official reportedly predicted that President-elect Donald Trump would “destroy Iran” and that weakening Tehran would effectively crush the remaining Hamas terror cells.
Mohammad Hamdan, secretary general of the ruling Fatah party in the PA, reportedly made the comments New York Post Dec. 19 during a meeting between the release and other top PA leaders in Nablus, about an hour south of the West Bank city of Jenin, where Western-backed PA forces have this month launched security operations against armed extremists linked to Hamas.
The Post first reported the conversation on Monday.
“We are facing each other Hamas ideology. Our problem is Hamas’ connection to regimes outside of Palestine,” Hamdan told the Post, specifically referring to Iran.
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Palestinian security forces stand guard during the funeral of Ibrahim Qaddoumi, a member of the Palestinian Authority who was killed during armed clashes between Palestinian security forces and gunmen in the Jenin refugee camp on December 27, 2024 in Nablus, West Bank. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“We see that Trump and the ruling government in Israel are planning to destroy Iran, thus Hamas [followers] will have no choice but to become a Palestinian,” he added.
A group of more than a dozen extremists stole two PA vehicles and paraded them through the streets of Jenin while waving Hamas and ISIS flags on Dec. 6, according to the Post.
Since then, PA forces have killed at least three extremists in the West Bank city and vowed to arrest or “eliminate” the remaining individuals responsible.
Fatah suffered a heavy defeat in the 2006 elections, which resulted in the conquest of rival Hamas control of the Gaza Stripconsolidating Islamic-extremist rule and repeating attacks on Israel.
The tipping point came when Hamas terrorists launched their own coordinated attack on southern Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.
As Israel has since decimated Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the PA, backed by the US and other Western governments, appears to be positioning itself to retake control of Gaza once the war ends.
“Hamas rejects international legitimacy, which means UN resolutions,” Hamdan said. “The world cannot accept a situation where one side does not accept international resolutions.”
Hamas and other Islamic extremist groups have sown distrust of the PA, accusing it of close coordination with Israel in past security attacks on Jenin.
In the past, the Jewish state dealt with Jenin, which was long considered a stronghold of terrorists. Until recently, PA security forces had little presence there until new security operations this month.
A large banner depicting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hangs as supporters of the Fatah movement gather ahead of the 60th anniversary of its founding and support for the Palestinian Authority security operation in the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees on December 29, 2024. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)
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At least three members of the PA security forces were killed, including an intelligence captain, during gun battles with the extremists, The Associated Press reported. The PA arrested dozens of people.
The Post said PA leaders it spoke to condemned Israel’s increasing settlement in the West Bank, but said they supported the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Hamdan also reportedly told the Post that the PA President Mahmoud Abbas — who criticized Israel and the United States before the United Nations General Assembly earlier this year — “still supports a realistic relationship with the Americans to realize the aspirations of the Palestinians.” However, the secretary general also claimed that the failed US foreign policy in the Middle East is responsible for the rise of Islamic extremism.
Palestinian security forces march with the body of Ibrahim Qaddoumi, a member of the Palestinian Authority killed during armed clashes between Palestinian security forces and gunmen in the Jenin refugee camp, on December 27, 2024 in Nablus, West Bank. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Look at what happened in Syria. First the US declared the rebels Al Qaeda, and then [last week] an American delegation visited Syria,” Hamdan told the Post. “And the one before that, when the Americans made deals with the Taliban in Afghanistan. We as Palestinians believe that most of these extremist Islamic groups have been produced by America in its quest to create a new Middle East.”
On the issue of post-war Gaza governance, one Israeli official told the Post that the PA remains an option, but that it will have to stop “corruption” and “terrorist financing” by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
The official admitted, however, that the PA could have an “unprecedented historic opportunity” to regain control of the Palestinian territories.
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The PA’s opposition to Hamas could provide unique leverage to “engage in talks the day after,” the Israeli official added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
