A top Palestinian leader reportedly predicted President-elect Donald Trump will help erase Hamas' ideology by destroying Iran.
"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 become Palestinian," Mohammad Hamdan, secretary general of the Palestinian Authority's ruling Fatah Party, told the New York Post.
Although Hamas has been engaged in a war against Israel in Gaza, the terrorist group also has been rising up against the PA and the Fatah Party in the West Bank.
Hamas and other Islamist groups have accused the PA of cozying up to the U.S. and other Western governments.
In the West Bank town of Jenin on Dec. 6, more than a dozen extremist gunmen stole two PA vehicles and paraded them around while waving Hamas and ISIS flags. Security forces since have cracked down at refugee camps, killing at least three extremist militants.
"We are confronting Hamas’ ideology," Hamdan told the Post. "Our problem is with Hamas' link to regimes outside Palestine."
Hamas gained control of the Gaza Strip after defeating Fatah in a 2006 election.
Fatah have joined the U.S. and Israel in fighting Hamas, which aims to annihilate the Jewish homeland.
"Hamas rejects international legitimacy, meaning UN resolutions," Hamdan told the Post.
"The world cannot accept a situation where a party does not accept international resolutions."
One senior Israeli official told the outlet that the PA’s opposition to Hamas could provide leverage for peace talks in Palestinian territories.
"There could be a historically unprecedented opportunity for the PA," the official said.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas terrorists attacked and massacred roughly 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostages on Oct. 7, 2023.
Earlier this month, Palestinian officials said Fatah and Hamas were closing in on an agreement to appoint a committee of politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war. It would effectively end Hamas' rule and could help advance ceasefire talks with Israel.
Hamdan also told the Post that PA President Mahmoud Abbas "still supports realistic relations with the Americans in order to achieve the aspirations of the Palestinians," but added he was skeptical of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
"Look what happened in Syria. First, the U.S. declared the rebels to be al-Qaida, 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.
"We as Palestinians believe that most of these extremist Islamic groups are produced by America by its effort to create a new Middle East."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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