Palestinian Authority lies about October 7: Israeli hostages are “soldiers,” Hamas terrorists are “civilians”
Top Fatah official claims Israelis abducted by Hamas “are not hostages” but “soldiers arrested by the Palestinian fighters”
Abbas’ advisor: All Hamas terrorists in Gaza are “civilians”
During the current war between Israel and terror organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority has tried to whitewash Hamas’ massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023—the horrific event that started the war—claiming that Hamas only attacked soldiers.
The PA has also demonized Israel, claiming that there are no Hamas terror infrastructures nor terrorists in the Gaza Strip, and that Israel is the one fighting only civilians.
The following are two examples of such lies coming from the PA top echelon:
Israelis abducted by Hamas “are not hostages” but “soldiers arrested by the Palestinian fighters” – top Fatah official
Interview in English with Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub:
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “The Palestinian prisoners should be released [in exchange] for the Israeli prisoners who are in the custody of Hamas (i.e., Israeli hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7). [We] should have a prisoner of war exchange…”
South African SABC News interviewer: “Israel is demanding an immediate release of those who have been taken hostage by Hamas.”
Jibril Rajoub: “Those are not hostages. Most of those are Israeli soldiers and they were arrested by the Palestinian fighters. The civilians who were at the beginning already have been released.”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page,
Feb. 22, 2024]Note: Most of the Israeli hostages are civilians, including infants and the elderly, who were violently taken captive from their homes or from the NOVA music festival on Oct. 7.
Only some of the civilians were released in an exchange deal in late November 2023, while many more remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Jibril Rajoub has also whitewashed the atrocities of Oct. 7 as the Palestinians’ “war of defense.”
All Hamas terrorists in Gaza are “civilians” – Abbas’ advisor
PA Chairman Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “What is happening in the Gaza Strip is not a war in the traditional sense of the word, but rather aggression by an army armed with the most powerful types of weapons against 2.3-2.4 million Palestinian civilians. All the people in the Gaza Strip are civilians, even the fighters are civilians, even the Palestinian resistance (i.e., Hamas) is civilians who are resisting the occupation army.”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Jan. 18, 2024]
Palestinian Media Watch has reported that Al-Habbash has since continued to deny the presence in Gaza of Hamas terrorists and terror infrastructure, claiming that “all the institutions and facilities in the Gaza Strip are civilian facilities”:
Al-Habbash: “Israel… is not attempting to implement any measures to protect the [Palestinian] civilians nor taking any action for that purpose. The proof is all the civilian victims who will fall in the Gaza Strip and who have fallen since the start of the [Israeli] aggression in October [2023] until now (i.e., in the 2023 Gaza war). The Gaza Strip is tantamount to a civilian human bloc. All the institutions and facilities in the Gaza Strip are civilian facilities.”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, May 23, 2024]