Oct. 7 was “Israeli plot” to “control” entire Middle East - Abbas’ advisor
- Abbas' advisor:
"Israel dragged Hamas into this bottomless abyss to later justify everything it is doing as part of its desire to control either Palestine primarily or the Arab region in general, the entire Middle East"
- Official PA daily columnist:
"[Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu gave Hamas and the armed groups in the Gaza Strip golden opportunities to enhance their power and capabilities, in order to carry out the mission that is to prevent any chance of establishing the exclusivity of the legitimate PA institutions"
"No one can convince us that the military and civilian intelligence forces of the occupation system were in a deep sleep and were surprised by the Oct. 7 operation... The crime of assassinating the Palestinian state... required turning a blind eye to Hamas' weapons and tunnels"
- Fatah spokesman:
"The danger is not only to the Palestinian people, the danger is to the region. Netanyahu and the occupation is the greatest danger to peace, security, and stability"
During the Oct. 7. war the PA spread different libels about Israel, ranging from claims the massacre did not happen at all to lies that Israel wanted the war and even planned it in advance as a way to gain control over the entire Middle East. This libel is still alive and well. It not only whitewashes Palestinians of any responsibility for their massacre and murder of over 1,100 Israelis and foreigners in one day but also cements the PA's narrative of victimhood that casts Israel in the role of existential danger which threatens not only the PA but the entire region.
PA Chairman Abbas' advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash has adamantly promoted this PA narrative, and did so again recently:
PA Chairman Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "Some people even speculate that Oct. 7 was an Israeli plot. Some say this, even in the Palestinian street. They say that Israel dragged Hamas and the Palestinian street into this bottomless abyss to later justify everything it is doing as part of its desire to control either Palestine primarily or the Arab region in general, the entire Middle East."
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, YouTube channel, March 14, 2026]
Palestinian Media Watch reported this week on similar accusations against Israel, claims that Israel "shares goals with Iran" to "weaken the Arab states."
The spokesman for Abbas' Fatah party also portrayed Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as "a danger to the whole region":
Fatah Movement official Spokesman and released terrorist Abd Al-Fattah Doleh: "Today the whole world is preoccupied with Iran. The one who is benefiting the most from this is [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu, who has committed all kinds of aggression and used all justifications not to adhere to [US President] Trump's plan [for Gaza]… Today the issue of Iran came on a silver platter, and all eyes and attention were directed there…
We told [the Arab states] at the start of the war against us: The danger is not only to the Palestinian people, the danger is to the region,and if you remain silent on Netanyahu, the danger will reach [you] everywhere… Netanyahu and the occupation is the greatest danger to peace, security, and stability."
[Al-Alam radio station (Hebron), Facebook page, March 7, 2026]
A regular columnist of the official PA daily has also promoted the libel that Israel "turned a blind eye to Hamas' weapons and tunnels" to serve its "mission" to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state:
"It was no secret that the governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu gave Hamas and the armed groups in the Gaza Strip golden opportunities to enhance their power and capabilities, in order to carry out the mission that is to prevent any chance of establishing the exclusivity of the legitimate PA institutions, and specifically the official legitimate [PA] Security Forces... No one can convince us that the military and civilian intelligence forces of the occupation system – which worked for 15 years, spent about $320 million on the operation of blowing up about 5,000 pagers with a single button press (see note below -Ed.), and managed to land a blow on the Hezbollah forces in Lebanon in an unprecedented operation in the history of global intelligence – were in a deep sleep and were surprised by the Oct. 7, [2023] operation... The crime of assassinating the Palestinian state... required turning a blind eye to Hamas' weapons and tunnels until the moment the organization expired."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 8, 2026]
During the Oct. 7 war, Al-Habbash claimed Israel benefited from the massacre as it enabled them to carry out a "premeditated plan" to "destroy the Palestinian people":
Al-Habbash: "Israel is behind all the obstacles and reasons leading to the continuation of this war of annihilation (i.e., Oct. 7 war). It wanted it and pursued it and took advantage of the opportunity presented to it on Oct. 7 to execute this plot, to carry out this plan that was premeditated and incubated in the minds of the leaders of this right-wing Israeli government: The attempt to destroy the Palestinian people."
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, YouTube channel, Aug. 27, 2025]
The following is a longer excerpt of the column cited above:
Excerpt of a column by Muwaffaq Matar, Fatah Revolutionary Council member and regular columnist for the official PA daily
Headline: "Disarmament – expired, or in order to start a new project?"
"The countdown to the expiration of the ‘Qutbist Brotherhood' (i.e., the Muslim Brotherhood – refers to Sayyid Qutb, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood terror organization) and the groups exploiting religion in Arab countries – regardless of their religious sources of authority – is about to end. This explains the fact that the occupation system (Israel) has taken upon itself the disarmament of Hamas, the armed branch of the organization, and conditioned the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip on the disarmament of groups that accumulated [weapons], manufactured some of them, and smuggled most of them, under the eyes and ears of its security forces such as the Israeli Security Agency, Military Intelligence, and also the Mossad (Israeli Secret Intelligence Service). The heads [of these forces] monitored the skill of Hamas militants in using weapons (to which they turned a blind eye) [parentheses in source] during the 2007 coup (see note below -Ed.), and when Palestinian [PA] Security Forces officers and personnel were murdered...
It was no secret that the governments led by [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu gave Hamas and the armed groups in the Gaza Strip golden opportunities to enhance their power and capabilities, in order to carry out the mission that is to prevent any chance of establishing the exclusivity of the legitimate PA institutions, and specifically the official legitimate [PA] Security Forces...
No one can convince us that the military and civilian intelligence forces of the occupation system – which worked for 15 years, spent about $320 million on the operation of blowing up about 5,000 pagers with a single button press (see note below -Ed.), and managed to land a blow on the Hezbollah forces in Lebanon in an unprecedented operation in the history of global intelligence – were in a deep sleep and were surprised by the Oct. 7, [2023] operation (i.e., Hamas' invasion and massacre to launch its terror war on Israel; see note below)...
The crime of assassinating the Palestinian state... required turning a blind eye to Hamas' weapons and tunnels until the moment the organization expired."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 8, 2026]
2007 Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip