Abbas’ advisor invites Hamas who “killed and tortured” Gazans for “true national unity”
Abbas' advisor: Hamas has "killed and tortured" Gazans since 2006
Same advisor: We hope for "true national unity" with Hamas
On several occasions, the PA and Fatah, and in particular Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, have called for unity with Hamas under the PLO. This month, Al-Habbash openly stated that they are "hoping" for this unity, particularly with Hamas:
Al-Habbash: "Arranging the Palestinian home is a top priority for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership. We cannot truly advance, or at least move matters forward, and protect the Palestinian issue without true national unity (i.e., including Hamas), under an inclusive national umbrella, which is the PLO...
We hope that all these efforts will lead to a response, particularly from the Hamas movement."[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, YouTube channel, Sept. 16, 2026]
But at the same time, Al-Habbash knows very well whom he is inviting for embrace—a terror organization that doesn't care about the well-being of Palestinians but only serves its own interests and those of its "masters," the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran. Two weeks before making the statement above, Al-Habbash himself described Hamas as a regime that has "killed and tortured" Gazans since it came to power in 2006:
Al-Habbash: "Hamas rose to power in the Gaza Strip after the 2006 elections. The homeland and the citizens were the first victims of Hamas rule after they came to power. They killed people, imprisoned people, starved people, and confiscated their money...
The role of what is called 'Internal Security' in Hamas was solely to torture people, oppress people, and sometimes kill people."
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, YouTube channel, Sept. 3, 2026]
This seems like a contradiction. Why would Abbas' advisor – and with him the PA – invite murderers and torturers of their own people to join them for "unity" under the umbrella of the PLO?
The explanation is simple: Hamas is popular; the PA and Fatah are not.
Therefore, Fatah aims to absorb Hamas into a single Palestinian political system, allowing Fatah to protect its own political survival and share governance rather than risk being completely sidelined.
A Fatah spokesman illustrated this clearly when he stressed that Hamas can keep its ideology as long as it joins the Fatah-dominated PLO. Palestinian Media Watch has also exposed that Fatah explicitly called for unity with Hamas for the purpose of "defeating Israel."