A Palestinian leader told the New York Post that he believes President-elect Donald Trump will eliminate Hamas by destroying Iran.
“We are confronting Hamas’ ideology. Our problem is with Hamas’ link to regimes outside Palestine,” said Mohammad Hamdan, the Secretary General of the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah party. He added that “Trump and the ruling government in Israel are planning to destroy Iran, so Hamas [followers] will have no other choice than to become Palestinian.”
Hamas has accused the PA of being too close to the United States and other Western governments. The Fatah has joined the U.S. and Israel in combatting Hamas.
Hamdan noted that “Hamas rejects international legitimacy, meaning U.N. resolutions. The world cannot accept a situation where a party does not accept international resolutions.”
He explained that PA President President Mahmoud Abbas “still supports realistic relations with the Americans in order to achieve the aspirations of the Palestinians,” although the PA blames the rise of extremism on failed foreign policy.
“Look what happened in Syria. First, the US declared the rebels to be al Qaeda, and then [last week] an American delegation visited Syria,” Hamdan said. “And the one before that, when the Americans struck deals with the Taliban in Afghanistan.” He stated that “Palestinians believe that most of these extremist Islamic groups are produced by America by its effort to create a new Middle East.”
An Israeli official told The Post that the PA’s opposition to Hamas may contribute to peace talks. “There could be a historically unprecedented opportunity for the PA” to increase its influence in Palestinian areas, the official said.
