Hours after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people and wounding thousands, the Palestinian Authority released a statement blaming Israel for the attacks. Five days later, P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas condemned violence against civilians “on both sides.”
On Oct. 15, reportedly under pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Abbas released a statement noting that “Hamas’s policy and actions do not represent the Palestinian people.” It was a statement that distanced the P.A. “from Hamas’s atrocities but was not even close to a condemnation,” noted Palestinian Media Watch.
Hours later, Abbas amended the statement, removing the word “Hamas” and instead referred to “any other organization.”
“Even that mild distancing was too much for the P.A.,” Palestinian Media Watch stated.
“The P.A. had to decide whether to be true to its ideology of supporting and rewarding the murder of Israelis or to give into international pressure and condemn the worst atrocities against the Jews since the Holocaust,” said Itamar Marcus, PMW founder and director. “This time Abbas wavered, but in the end, remained true to P.A. ideology: The murder of Israelis by Palestinians is not to be condemned.”
