PA daily attacks Hamas for being a pawn of Iran and rejecting Palestinian unity

Excerpt of an editorial by the official PA daily

Headline: “The secret victory!”

“Islamic Jihad Movement Secretary-General [Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh] announced from Tehran that a Palestinian national reconciliation is impossible (!) [parentheses in source], and that his Movement opposes the political fundamentals of the PLO, which are based on an agreement! In Tehran, Hamas Movement Political Bureau Head Ismail Haniyeh delivered his credentials with full pride (!) [parentheses in source] to new Iranian President [Ebrahim Raisi], while presenting to him as a gift the blood of the victims and Martyrs from among our people who fell in the recent Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, under the headline ‘The victory in the Sword of Jerusalem battle’ (refers to Fatah/Hamas riot and rocket war; see note below -Ed.)! This is a victory that does not exist in reality, except as a word in a speech…

Of course, like Haniyeh, Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh also delivered his credentials to his patron in Tehran. Through this statement, he revealed the positions against the national reconciliation on the one hand and against the PLO on the other hand; [positions] that his patron is interested in! How does reconciliation with your brother turn into something impossible? …

Let us return to Haniyeh and the victory that he speaks about…

Apparently, this is a secret victory! After all, there is nothing in reality that indicates it, and there are no results on the ground that indicate it! The battle for Jerusalem is still continuing, and the occupation has returned to its arbitrary and violent measures against the holy city, but the resistance of [Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades Spokesman] (i.e., Hamas’ military wing) Abu Ubeida has not returned, who said: ‘But if you return [to sin], We will return [to punishment]’ [Quran 17:8, Sahih International translation]! The reality is that Hamas has indeed returned, [not to resistance] but rather to its populist speeches and the attempts to exploit the blood of the Martyrs and victims in states that do not want the existence of the PLO or the victory of its national liberation project!”

Fatah/Hamas Riot and Rocket War 2021 – On April 30, 2021, facing certain electoral defeat, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas cancelled the first PA elections scheduled in 15 years. Hamas, which expected to win the elections, denounced it as a “coup.” In need of a conflict to divert public discontent, Abbas artificially generated a crisis over Jerusalem. His Fatah party called for "raising the level of confrontation,” and Abbas' spokesman told Palestinians "the battle of all battles is here.” Jerusalem Arabs responded by attacking Jews with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Hamas, Abbas' political rival, could not allow Abbas to lead the battle, so on May 10, 2021, Hamas launched rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers including Jerusalem. Over the next 11 days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 4,300 rockets into southern and central Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing 9 Israelis and 3 foreign nationals, and wounding hundreds. In response, Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls to target Hamas terror leaders and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Already in mid-April, a planned eviction of some Palestinian families illegally living in Jewish-owned buildings in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem had led to clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli police. This dispute provided Palestinians with a pretext for violent rioting. Adding to the crisis, Israeli Arabs started rioting throughout Israel, especially in cities with a mixed Jewish and Arab population. Two Jews were murdered and many were wounded. According to Walla, an independent Israeli news site, 10 synagogues were wholly or partly burned down; fires were set in 112 Jewish homes and 1 Arab home mistaken for a Jewish home; 386 Jewish homes were plundered and 673 were damaged; 849 cars were set ablaze; and there were 5,018 rock-throwing attacks. In response, Jews started attacking Arabs and their properties as well, but on a much smaller scale. No mosques were burned; 13 Arab homes were damaged; 13 Arab-owned cars were burned; and there were 41 rock-throwing attacks by Jews. [Walla, May 16, 2021] The fighting between Israel and Hamas ended with a ceasefire on May 21, 2021.