Trump's return will destroy Iran, Hamas, says Fatah Sec. General

Fatah leaders interviewed by the New York Post acknowledged Israel's right to exist while condemning the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF DECEMBER 31, 2024 10:55

“We are confronting Hamas’ ideology,” Mohammad Hamdan, Secretary General of the PA’s ruling Fatah party, told The Post. (photo credit: Caitlin Doornbos)

Donald Trump's return to the White House on January 20 will bring about the end of the Iranian regime and Hamas, the Secretary General of the Palestinian Authority's Fatah party, Mohammad Hamdan, told the New York Post.

“We see that Trump and the ruling government in Israel are planning to destroy Iran, so Hamas [followers] will have no other choice than to [fall in with Palestinian Authority],” the Fatah leader said.

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that President-elect Donald Trump was evaluating the possibility of preemptive strikes on Iran to stop its growing nuclear program.

Hamdan added that the issue with confronting Hamas’s ideology is that the terrorist group has ties linked to regimes outside Palestine but that the destruction of Iran would catalyze the group's demise.

"Hamas rejects international legitimacy, meaning UN resolutions," Hamdan told the NY Post from Nablus.

Palestinian gunmen hold weapons during the funeral of Palestinian terrorist, Ahmed Abu al-Foul, who was killed by Palestinian Authority forces in Tulkarm camp, in the West Bank, May 2, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/RANEEN SAWAFTA)

“The world cannot accept a situation where a party does not accept international resolutions.”

Just a few days ago, Hamas called for mobilization against the Palestinian Authority (PA), and what it referred to as “unprecedented” level of “aggression” against it and other terror groups in the West Bank.

Israel's existence

According to the NY Post, the Fatah leaders it interviewed acknowledged Israel's right to exist, while condemning the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Hamdan was skeptical about US policy in the middle east, and according to NY Post, blamed rising Islamism on American 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,” he said. “And the one before that, when the Americans struck deals with the Taliban in Afghanistan.”

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“We as Palestinians believe that most of these extremist Islamic groups are produced by America by its effort to create a new Middle East,” Hamdan claimed.

In response to its interview with Hamdan, an Israeli official reportedly told the NY Post that the PA's opposition to Hamas could enable opportunities for peace talks.

“There could be a historically unprecedented opportunity for the PA [to strengthen its grasp on the Palestinian territories]," the official said.

While the official said the PA would need to address its corruption and stop funding terrorism against Israelis, the official nevertheless "prefers the PA to radical Islamists."