A Palestinian Authority (PA) official reportedly predicted that newly elected President Donald Trump will “destroy Iran” and that weakening Tehran will effectively break down Hamas’s remaining terror cells.
Mohammad Hamdan, secretary general of the PA’s ruling Fatah party, reportedly made the comments to the press New York Post on December 19 during a meeting between the outlet and other top PA leaders in Nablus, about an hour south of the West Bank city of Jenin, where Western-backed PA forces this month launched security operations against armed extremists linked to have with Hamas.
The Post first reported the conversation on Monday.
‘We have entered into confrontation Hamas ideology. Our problem is Hamas’s link with regimes outside Palestine,” Hamdan told the Post, referring specifically 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 intend to destroy Iran, so Hamas (supporters) will have no choice but to become Palestinian,” he added.
A group of more than a dozen extremists stole two PA vehicles on December 6 and paraded them through the streets of Jenin while waving Hamas and ISIS flags, the Post said.
Since then, PA forces have killed at least three extremists in the West Bank city and vowed to arrest or “eliminate” the rest responsible.
Fatah suffered a major defeat in the 2006 elections, allowing rival Hamas to seize power control over the Gaza Striphardening the Islamic extremist regime and launching repeated attacks on Israel.
The turning point came when Hamas terrorists launched their terror campaign coordinated attack on southern Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.
With Israel having since decimated Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the PA, which is backed by the US and other Western governments, appears to be positioning itself to resume governance of Gaza once the war is over.
“Hamas rejects international legitimacy, i.e. UN resolutions,” Hamdan said. “The world cannot accept a situation where one party does not accept international resolutions.”
Hamas and other Islamist extremist groups have sown distrust of the PA, accusing it of working closely with Israel in previous security attacks on Jenin.
The Jewish state has in the past cracked down on Jenin, long considered a terrorist stronghold. PA security forces have had little presence there until new security operations this month.
A large banner depicting Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas hangs as supporters of the Fatah movement gather ahead of the 60th anniversary of its founding and in support of the Palestinian Authority’s security operation in the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees on 29 December 2024. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)
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At least three members of the PA security force have been killed, including an intelligence captain, during armed clashes with extremists, The Associated Press reported. The PA has arrested dozens of people.
The Post said the PA leaders they interviewed condemned Israel’s increased settlements in the West Bank but said they supported the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Hamdan also reportedly told the Post that PA President Mahmoud Abbas – who rejected Israel and the United States before the United Nations General Assembly earlier this year – “still supports realistic relations with the Americans to realize the aspirations of the Palestinians.” However, the Secretary General also argued that failed US foreign policy in the Middle East was responsible for growing Islamic extremism.
Palestinian security forces march with the body 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)
“Look what happened in Syria. First the US declared the rebels were 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 were created by America through their efforts to create a new Middle East.”
On the issue of post-war governance in Gaza, an Israeli official told the Post that the PA remained an option but would need to end “the corruption” and “the financing of terrorism” against Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
However, the official acknowledged that the PA could have “a historically unprecedented opportunity” to return to its control of the Palestinian territories.
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The PA’s opposition to Hamas could provide unique leverage to “participate in tomorrow’s talks,” the Israeli official added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
