Israeli PM: Palestinian Authority, Like Hamas, Seeks Israel’s Full Destruction – Vows No PA Control in Gaza

The Palestinian Authority (PA), like Hamas, seeks the utter demise of the State of Israel, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who asserted that the difference between the two groups is only a matter of methodology, as he vowed to never have the “hostile” PA control a post-Hamas Gaza. 

The Israeli premier compared the supposedly “moderate” Palestinian Authority (PA) to the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hamas, claiming both actively seek the destruction of the Jewish state, as reported by Hebrew media based on leaks from the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting Monday.

“The difference between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is only that Hamas wants to destroy us here and now and the PA wants to do it in stages,” he was quoted as saying in the private meeting.

He also stated that “Oslo was the mother of all sins,” in reference to the failed 1993 Oslo Accords, which promised peace for Israelis but delivered years of Palestinian terror instead.

Earlier, Netanyahu pledged to avoid previous errors, stating he would not “delude” himself into allowing the “hostile” PA to return to Gaza once the military campaign against Hamas concludes.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden continues to push for working with the PA, insisting the largely failed two-state solution for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the “only way” to ensure long-term security for both Israelis and Palestinians in a new post-Hamas Gaza.

In addition, U.S. officials are reportedly exploring options for the PA to potentially govern Gaza again, following inquiries to Abbas, though implementing the plan faces challenges due to the PA’s historical struggles, including its 2007 ousting from Gaza by Hamas, issues of corruption, unpopularity, and declining international support. 

However, the Israeli PM has repeatedly expressed his opposition to Biden’s proposal to restore control of Gaza to the official Palestinian Authority (PA) once Hamas is removed from power and destroyed.

“In Gaza, after the destruction of Hamas, and for a long time thereafter, there will not be a regime that encourages terror, that teaches terror, that funds terror — that also indoctrinates about the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews — this will not be,” Netanyahu vowed at a press conference last month.

The PA, under President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement, have long proven themselves nonviable partners for peace due their actions and policies that stand in stark opposition to the objectives of a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

The long-serving Abbas — who has remained PA president for 18 years despite a four-year term limit — leads this supposedly “moderate” Palestinian faction that endorses a perspective paralleling that of Hamas.

While his security forces have participated in scores of deadly terror attacks against Israelis, he himself has a history of conveying inciting antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric. Governments and leaders across the globe voiced outrage over “horrifying” remarks in a recent speech he delivered in which he claimed Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was not an antisemite and that the Jews of Europe during his era were not killed due to their Jewish identity, but due to their “role in society,” including “usury.”

Despite frequent media assertions, neither Abbas nor any of the groups he heads fall under the category of “moderate,” with Hamas’s October 7 massacre — the deadliest against Jewish people since the Nazi Holocaust, which saw the torture, rape, execution, and abduction of hundreds of Israeli civilians — having received broad support from Palestinian factions across the board.

Aside from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad perpetrating the brutal October attack, the “moderate” Fatah expressed support and even participated in it, while the PA has refused to condemn Hamas and the group’s atrocities.

The PA, which serves as the administrative organization established to govern the Palestinian territories (particularly in the West Bank), has a history of refusing to fully recognize Israel as well as supporting terror activities against the Jewish state, coupled with promoting anti-Israeli sentiment through media and education.

Palestinian education, controlled by the PA, systematically indoctrinates children with hatred towards Israel and Jews. Textbooks and curricula across various subjects delegitimize Israel’s existence, demonize Jews, and incite violent struggle, with no emphasis on peace and coexistence.

The PA has also consistently rejected all of Israel’s offers for a state. Despite the numerous proposals, every Israeli attempt to offer land concessions has been met with terror waves, beginning with attacks under late PLO leader Arafat in the 1990s following the failed Oslo accords, to the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, to Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 that prompted 18 years of rocket attacks.

Aside from its governance issues, including corruption and authoritarian practices, the PA incites terror against Israel and celebrates the killers of Jews, as it continues naming public parks and monuments after terrorists. 

Following the October 7 massacre, the PA falsely claimed the rave massacre was committed by the IDF, while PA Ambassador to Iraq Amad Rwaidy, who was appointed by Abbas in September, argued that Israeli civilians killed in Hamas’s unprecedented attack were not to be regarded as innocent.

In addition, an official document recently published by the PA outlined calls for imams to incite violence and murder in Friday sermons, citing a religious text for Muslims to “fight the Jews” and “kill” them all.

In April, a violence-themed musical was broadcast on Palestinian Authority television calling to fight Israelis “everywhere” with “blood and stones.”

The PA is also reported to have allocated roughly $2.8 million to families of deceased Hamas terrorists as part of a program compensating those involved in terrorist acts, with additional funds for the families and imprisoned members.

This payout is part of the “pay-for-slay” initiative, officially termed the “Martyrs’ Fund,” wherein financial rewards are granted for carrying out terrorist attacks, with higher compensation for more devastating acts. 

Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled the PA can be held liable for terrorism and sued by the families of those killed in terror attacks as a result of the policy.