PA supports China’s ambition to occupy and rule Taiwan
- “The [Abbas] Presidency further voiced its firm support for China's right to… the reunification of the entire land of China, which includes Taiwan”
- Abbas: “We don’t trust them [the US] and don’t rely on them." [Oct. 13, 2022]
The Palestinian Authority has once again made it clear that despite receiving billions of dollars in United States aid and ongoing funding from the Biden administration, the PA continues to ally itself with America's enemies.
The latest reminder came this week, with Mahmoud Abbas rejecting Taiwan’s independence by “reaffirming its [PA] commitment to the one-China principle.” Abbas further expressed explicit support for mainland China’s goal of occupying Taiwan:
“The Palestinian Presidency underlined the significance of preserving China's territorial integrity, including the status of Taiwan… [and] voiced its firm support for China's right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, endorsing the reunification of the entire land of China, which includes Taiwan.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, English edition, Jan. 13, 2024]
This is diametrically opposed to US policy. President Joe Biden said very clearly that the US would even go to war to defend Taiwan from China:
Biden: “If in fact anyone were to invade or take action against our NATO allies, we would respond. Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with-- Taiwan.” [ABC News, Aug. 19, 2021]
The PA regularly stresses its friendship with China. On the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of the establishment of the veteran Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Abbas expressed the Palestinian “admiration” for China and its “achievements”:
”[Abbas] praised the achievements of China, which is continuing its victorious journey that is full of successes in all fields, while preserving its achievements and its leading and strengthening position in the world. Therefore, its journey has justly received our admiration and the admiration of [the world] states.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, July 23, 2023]
Earlier in the year, Abbas had “expressed his great pride in the historical and firm ties between the two states and the two peoples, which are based on deep friendship, solidarity, and cooperation.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, English edition, June 14, 2023]
As opposed to his admiration for China, Mahmoud Abbas, who never hesitates to beg for and receive hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid, has publicly said he does not trust the US:
Mahmoud Abbas: "We don't trust America, and you [Vladimir Putin] know our position. We don’t trust them and don’t rely on them, and we won’t accept under any circumstances to America being the sole party in resolving the problem."
[YouTube channel of Cairo-based Alghad TV, Oct. 13, 2022]
Abbas’ advisor recently expressed the PA’s view of the US, presenting it as the enemy not only of Palestinians but of the entire Arab and Muslim worlds:
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash:
“America is taking care of Israel and supporting it. It considers Israel as its arm in the Middle East and the Arab region. America considers Israel as an arm with which it hits whichever Arabs that it wants, and it takes action through it to sabotage the inter-Arab relations, the Arab-Islamic relations, and the inter-Islamic relations. It takes action to sabotage the entire region and turn it into a game in the hands of the US.”
Question: Do you think that the US is no longer a fair mediator to resolve the Palestinian problem?
Al-Habbash: Fundamentally it was not a fair mediator for resolving the Palestinian problem even for one day. We must not deceive ourselves that the US will one day become a fair mediator between Palestine and Israel.”
The Palestinian Authority-US relationship is truly unique: The PA promotes hatred and disdain for the US for years under all administrations, maligns the American worldview, rejects America’s allies while embracing America’s enemies, rewards and glorifies terrorist murderers of Israelis and Americans, teaches its children that its goal is the destruction of American ally Israel, and yet the PA continues to receive massive financial support from the US.
What drives the US to continue funding an entity so antithetical to its values?