Abbas’ advisor: Palestinian terror “should not be condemned” – blame Israel instead

This week, a 16-year-old Palestinian attempted to murder an Israeli who stopped at a Palestinian shop to make a purchase from Palestinians. Even though the stabbing was recorded by security cameras and was seen by the whole world (see video above), the terrorist "should not be condemned," according to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' senior advisor, Mahmoud Al-Habbash. Instead, Israel should be blamed, because the PA views every murder and attempted murder of any Israeli as a justified "reaction" to Israeli policy:

Egyptian Al-Qahera News TV host: "These published images are of a stabbing operation (i.e., terror attack) carried out by a young Palestinian against [an Israeli] settler…"

Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "The responsibility for all this lies with the Israeli policy adopted by this extremist government. Likewise, the settlers, who are a tool or one of the arms of this extremist government, bear responsibility for everything that's going on. They are responsible for the tension. They are the ones who increasingly provoke the anger of the Palestinians against the occupation (i.e., Israel)... The reaction (i.e., the attempted murder) should not be condemned, rather the perpetrator [Israel] of the [original] crime should be condemned first and foremost."

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, YouTube channel, Aug. 23, 2026]

The Israeli, Elhanan Hananya, had done nothing more than stop along a road used by Israelis and Palestinians to buy from a Palestinian shop. The attacker nevertheless stabbed him in front of his pregnant wife and children.

Habbash's justification for the attack was also strikingly similar to what he told the very same Egyptian television channel just eight months earlier, after a Palestinian terrorist murdered two Israelis. Then too, Abbas' senior advisor placed responsibility squarely on Israel.

Habbash's message yesterday was virtually identical: Palestinians carried out the terror attack, but Israel is the one who is guilty. Coming from such a senior PA advisor (remember "What happened on Oct. 7 is a legitimate thing, okay?"), it reveals the attitude of the Palestinian Authority, which is viewed by the West as a moderate alternative to Hamas toward terror against Israelis: Palestinian terrorists are absolved of responsibility, their attacks are legitimized as reactions to Israeli policy, and Israel is blamed for the Israelis that the Palestinians stab and murder.