The U.S. support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza – which broke out following the Hamas October 7 terror attack in Southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were murdered and about 240 were kidnapped – has sparked intense criticism from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its officials and harsh accusations against the U.S.
Like Hamas and the Iran-led resistance axis, the PA leaders, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, blame the U.S., and President Joe Biden personally, for the war in Gaza and for what they call a "genocide" and a "war of extermination" against the Palestinian people. According to the Palestinian officials the U.S. is responsible for the war due to its direct aid for the Israeli war effort, and also because it is not using its leverage on Israel to force it to end the war. The U.S. veto on December 8, 2023, of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate end to the war exacerbated the Palestinian attacks on the U.S., and Abbas called to "hold it to account" for this.
Similar accusations against the U.S. were made in articles published in the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and in the Palestinian dailies Al-Ayyam and Al-Quds, which are published in Ramallah and East Jerusalem, respectively. These articles stated that the U.S. is an enemy of the Palestinian people and a major accomplice in the murder of Palestinians. In an article he wrote in A-Ayyam, Palestinian Culture Minister Atef Abu Saif called to change the world order in order to neutralize America's influence on UN resolutions, and said that the world deserves better leadership than the leadership provided by the U.S. An article in Al-Quds, by a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), called the U.S. "the head of the serpent" and claimed that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is running the war of extermination against the Palestinian people. An article posted by PLO Central Committee member Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul on his Facebook page included antisemitic motifs, presenting the U.S. as a Nazi country that is "roasting the Palestinians in crematoria" as a sacrifice to the tycoons and to Israel.
It should be noted that the PA and its officials have so far refrained from condemning Hamas’ October 7 terror attack, and its officials have even justified the attack as a "natural response" to Israel's policies and threatened that a similar attack would occur in the West Bank.[1]
Cartoon published following the U.S. veto of the UN resolution calling to end the war (Al-Quds, East Jerusalem, December 10, 2023)
The following are translated excerpts from statements by PA officials and from articles in the Palestinian dailies that blamed the U.S. for the war and accused it of complicity in a genocide against the Palestinians.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas: President Biden Is Responsible For The Gaza War; The U.S. Is Complicit In Genocide
In a November 18, 2023 televised speech, PA President Mahmoud Abbas said: “I call upon U.S. President Joe Biden – for he, and nobody else, bears special responsibility [for the Gaza war] due to his global status and his immense influence on the Israeli occupation – to immediately intervene and put an end to [Israel’s] aggression. President Biden, I call upon you… to end this humanitarian tragedy, or even genocide, against our innocent people – for history will not forgive anyone [who is responsible for it] – and help our besieged people in the Gaza Strip.”
Rejecting the U.S. position that regards Israel’s war in Gaza as legitimate self-defense following Hamas’ October 7 attack, Abbas said: “This war must be stopped immediately. How can this genocide [be regarded as] self-defense? The truth is that these are war crimes that must be punished.”[2]
In further remarks on December 9, one day after the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, Abbas said that America's policy makes it “complicit in the genocide, ethnic cleansing and war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank and in Jerusalem.” He added that this policy “has begun to pose a danger to the world and to international security and peace,” and warned of “a religious war that will threaten the entire world.” The U.S. veto is a mark of shame that will pursue it for many years to come, he concluded.[3]
PA Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina: The U.S. Is Complicit In Crimes Of Extermination; President Biden Has Not Kept Any Of His Promises
Abbas' spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina, who also serves as the PA Deputy Prime Minister and Information Minister, likewise accused the U.S. of complicity in “crimes of extermination,” saying: "I repeat our demand that the U.S. administration fulfill its responsibility and stop the extermination of the Palestinian people… and the massacres and war crimes that the Israeli occupation insists on committing in front of the world, in flagrant violation of international law."[4] He added that "only the U.S. can force Israel to stop the aggression and keep the region from deteriorating into endless wars."[5]
Abu Rudeina stated further: “Since Biden became president, he has not kept even one of his promises. Without completely ending the occupation, in accordance with the UN resolutions, there will be no security and no peace…”[6]
At a December 24, 2023 meeting of Arab information ministers in Libya, Abu Rudeina called for Arab pressure on the U.S. administration to compel Israel to stop “its aggression and war against the Palestinian people.” He stressed the important role of the media in exposing America’s "biased" pro-Israel policy to the Western public.[7]
Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh: We Must Hold U.S. To Account
In a December 10 conference in Doha, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh also slammed the U.S., saying: “The U.S. vetoed the UNSC resolution calling to end the war, and we must hold it to account, for it is part of the attack on the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.”[8]
Supreme Shari’a Judge And Advisor To President Abbas: America’s Influence On International Resolutions Must Be Neutralized
Following the U.S. veto of the UNSC draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the PA’s supreme shari’a judge and Abbas’ advisor for religious affairs, said at the 19th International Muslim Forum, held in Russia on December 11-13: “America’s positions at the [UN] Security Council foil any international effort to stop the aggression, and [this] requires the international community to examine the operational methods of the international bodies that [the U.S.] neutralizes. It is vital to change the way resolutions are passed and compel countries to implement them beyond the control of the U.S. [It is also vital] to put an end to the double standard regarding international disputes and the disregard and silence when it comes to Israel and its aggression towards the Palestinian people.[9]
Al-Habbash repeated his position in an interview with the Russia Today channel. In a post on his Facebook page summarizing the main points of this interview, he wrote: “The Security Council is unable to defend global peace and security because of the U.S. veto that paralyzes the international organizations. The U.S. administration does not understand the language of international law and of morality. It understands only the language of interests.”[10]
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American and European missiles help Israel devour the Palestinians (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, PA, November 8, 2023)
Articles In Palestinian Press: The U.S. Is The Enemy Spearheading The Genocide Of The Palestinians
Articles in the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and other Palestinian papers likewise slammed the U.S. for its support of Israel.
Palestinian Culture Minister Atef Abu Saif: 'The World Deserves A Better Leadership Than The U.S. Leadership'; A New World Order Is Needed
In an article published following the U.S. veto at the Security Council, Palestinian Culture Minister ‘Atef Abu Saif stressed the need for a new world order not controlled by the U.S. He wrote: “Although the U.S. veto is not [something] new, and is not supposed to surprise us, it comes at a time when the world expected the massacres committed against our people to be handled with a bit of respect… The U.S. [considers itself] above the law. It considers itself greater than the entire world order, and sees no problem in violating this order and paralyzing it. This country behaves as though it is greater than everyone, and considers [others] as mere extras [in its film], while it runs the world. It can do as it pleases and take positions as it wishes, and nobody can stand in its way…
“This leads us… to the need for a new world order. Sadly, all the efforts of the other world countries have not availed to mend the world order, whose efficiency the U.S. is thwarting and many of whose activities are nullified by [America’s] refusal and stubbornness. The world was a better place during the Cold War, for example, when there was someone to say ‘no’ to this arrogance and stubbornness. Back then there were active forces – including ones that were not superpowers – which held conferences and gatherings in which they stood up to America’s violence towards the world and its destruction of the world’s prevailing system of values. [But when] that era passed, everyone sadly started to jostle for a place on the Americanization bandwagon. This means that you have to give up all your positions and support those of the U.S., or at least keep silent… Back then, before the Berlin Wall fell, all was well in the world. [Back then] there were moral people, but they are absent from the world that is controlled by the U.S., which is rooted in oppressing the peoples and attacking anyone who stands up to America.
"The structure of the present world order is no longer suitable for running the world. The five countries [with veto power in the Security Council] do not have the right to decide for everyone… It is vital to add some other countries to this exclusive veto club, or else to abolish the veto mechanism altogether… The veto mechanism is sterile. It prevents the world from being humane and takes it back to the age of barbarians fighting each other. As a matter of fact, the entire concept of this international organization [i.e., the UN] must be reexamined, [given that] Washington claims that it funds [the UN] and is therefore entitled to dictate its policy. The world deserves a better leadership than that of the U.S.”[11]
Columnist In PA Daily: The Zionist-American Enemies 'Turned On The Fires Of Their Crematoria To Roast the Women, Children And Elders Of Palestine' As A Sacrifice To The Tycoons And Their Zionist State
PLO Central Council member Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul wrote in his column in the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida that the U.S. is the one running the war against the Palestinians: “In the eyes of the Americans and of the capitalist European Western countries, the Palestinian war of self-defense, and the [efforts to] halt the wanton aggression of the Zionist organized crime and the terror of this foundling state [Israel], are [actually] Palestinian ‘terror’… President Biden pledged $8 bn in financial aid, urgent military aid in the form of various kinds of advanced weapons, to the Israeli army… It also gave the mercenary state of Tel Aviv a free hand to pulverize the Palestinian people and their national resistance, and to force them to surrender according to Israel’s agenda and on Israel's terms. This proves for the millionth time that it is Washington who is running this horrific, barbaric war against the Arab Palestinian people, and not Israel, which is [just] a weak tool…”[12]
On December 20, several days before Christmas, Al-Ghoul posted a harsh article on his Facebook page in which he claimed that the U.S. and Israel were committing Nazi-like crimes against the Palestinians, and that the latter were being roasted in crematoria as a sacrifice to the Jewish-Zionist devil. He wrote: “The Christian Synod called on the whole world to pray for the souls of the martyrs, for the recovery of the wounded and for the war against the Palestinian homeland in general, and against Gaza in particular, to come to an immediate end. This reflects the unity of blood and destiny among the Palestinians of all three monotheistic faiths, and their joint responsibility to confront the rampaging of the Zionist neo-Nazis, who are worse than Hitler and Hitlerism… [All this is happening] amid silence from the capitalist Western world led by Washington. [The people of the West] claim to belong to the various Christian denominations, but now it has become tangibly clear that they actually worship the Devil, money, and Zionist Judaism… Yes, the Zionist-American and European enemies have drowned [Palestine], the land of peace, of readiness on the front, of tolerance and of coexistence in darkness and gloom. They turned on the fires of their crematoria to roast the children, the women and the elderly people of Palestine as a sacrifice to the [Jewish] tycoons and their foundling mercenary Zionist state. In doing so, they broke all the promises and all the agreements about possible and acceptable peace, just like the Zionist Jews and Khazars who were brought from all over the world to smash the unity of the Arab nation, steal its resources and enslave it… Their crusades have nothing to do with the Messenger of Christianity [i.e., Christ], who dreams of justice and peace and bears the banner of true humanity.
“Oh my Lord, the Messiah [Jesus]… Just as you shall arise one day, your [Palestinian] people will soon rise up from the rubble, destruction and death, bearing the torch of freedom, justice and peace. They will scatter flowers, light candles and decorate Christmas trees every year after they liberate Palestine from the Zionist-American enemy…”[13]
Al-Quds Daily: The U.S. Is The Enemy Of Our People; Whoever Is Counting On It To Achieve Peace Is Deluding Himself
According to an editorial in the daily Al-Quds, published in East Jerusalem, America's objective in the Gaza war is to expel the people of Gaza and to try out new American weapons. The U.S., said the editorial, is an enemy of the Palestinians and of anyone who defends truth and justice. The editorial said: "There is no choice but to see this [pro-Israeli] American position… as an immoral position that has nothing to do with humaneness. It proves that the slogans America touts, about defending human rights and democracy, are false when it comes to Palestine and its people…
"The primary goal behind America's use of its veto power is to enable the occupation state to continue its war of aggression, or even its war of extermination, in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, [America also wants] to turn the Strip into an area that cannot support life, as a step towards compelling its people to emigrate, willingly or due to the ongoing war… Another goal is for the occupation state to keep testing new American weapons and munitions on the people of Gaza, so that the U.S. can determine their efficiency. This also [achieves the objective of] intimidating every Arab or Islamic country, so that it refrains from coming to the aid of the [Palestinian] people for fear of meeting the same fate as Gaza, namely destruction, devastation and a return to the Middle Ages…
"The American veto proves for the millionth time that the U.S. is a central accomplice to the war of extermination against our people, whether by means of its veto power, or by means of the lethal weapons it provides to the occupation state – weapons that continue to be used in the war of extermination against the Strip, even though most of them are internationally banned [i.e. banned by international law]. Those who still bet on the U.S. and on its ability to achieve peace in the region are deluding themselves, and there is no choice but to take a clear Arab and Islamic stance towards the U.S., which is the enemy of our people and of all the peoples in the world that defend truth and justice and are committed to security and peace in the world."[14]
Al-Quds Columnist: The U.S. Is 'The Head Of The Serpent;' Blinken Serves As The Commander Of The War of Extermination
Wissam Al-Rafidi, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), wrote in Al-Quds that the U.S. is "the head of the serpent" and is running the war against the Palestinians along with the "entity" (i.e., Israel): "Is there anyone who still has the faintest doubt that the White House is the one leading the war and the genocide against our people in Gaza? Even a single brain cell out of the millions of cells in an intelligent person's brain is enough to come to this genuine [conclusion]… The public [American] statements, the provision of lethal and devastating bombs to the [Zionist] entity, [America's] involvement in the formulation and approval of the military plans of the Zionist war cabinet, and the provision of a political and international defense umbrella in the UN for the [Zionist] entity and its crimes – [all these factors indicate that] the U.S. is present [in the war] as a partner and a decision-maker, and in fact as a leader…
"When Biden declares that the military operation in the south [of the Gaza Strip] is being conducted with consideration for civilian lives, and that the Zionists have agreed to this, he knows that he is lying. [The death of] over 300 martyrs [sic]– all of them women and children – is proof of this. As for [U.S. Secretary of State Antony] Blinken, who participated in a meeting of [Israel's] war cabinet, was familiarized with the military plans and approved them as an active decision-maker – [his involvement] is further proof that the U.S. is an active partner, and even a decision-maker and a leader, in the war of extermination. When Blinken demands that Hamas surrender and turn in its leadership and everyone who took part in the October 7 crossing,[15] he is acting as the prime minister and military chief-of-staff of the [Zionist] entity – proposing targets, formulating battle moves, making demands, consulting with generals and approving the plans with them. He is acting as the commander of the war of extermination and expulsion…
"We will carefully consider every declaration made by the senile old man Biden, by Blinken, the commander of the extermination offensive, and by the small group of spokespersons and advisors, and compare them to the reality of the [Gaza] Strip and of our people there, in order to expose the truth: [that] the American imperialists and their infant, the [Zionist] entity, are the greatest liars in history.
"We were youths who cheered at demonstrations. We learned from [Che] Guevarra, who called the U.S. the head of the serpent… Dr. George Habbash[16] [also] reiterated that 'America is the head of the serpent'… Today we have discovered as a people, through the blood that was spilled in an attempt to exterminate our people [in Gaza], that what [Che] Guevarra said, and what the Wise Man [George Habbash] repeated again and again, is the absolute truth and that America is [indeed] the head of the serpent."[17]
[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10873, Palestinian Authority News Agency Quotes Abbas As Condemning Hamas's Actions, Then Deletes The Condemnation, October 16, 2023; Special Dispatch No. 11003, Palestinian Officials Justify Hamas' October 7 Massacre: It Was Not Terror But A Natural Reaction To Occupation; 'The Next Explosion, Even More Violent, Will Be In The West Bank'; Hamas Is And Will Remain Part Of The Palestinian Fabric, December 6, 2023.
[2] Wafa.ps, November 18, 2023.
[3] Wafa.ps, December 9, 2023.
[4] Wafa.ps, November 18, 2023.
[5] Wafa.ps, December 14, 2023.
[6] Wafa.ps, December 14, 2023.
[7] Wafa.ps, December 24, 2023.
[8] Wafa.ps, December 10, 2023.
[9] Wafa.ps, December 12, 2023.
[10] Facebook.com/dr.mahmoudalhabbash, December 12, 2023.
[11] Al-Ayyam (PA), December 10, 2023.
[12] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), October 10, 2023.
[13] Facebook.com/OmarElghoulOfficial, December 20, 2023.
[14] Al-Quds (East Jerusalem), December 10, 2023.
[15] This terminology is meant to liken Hamas October 7 attack to the Egyptian military's operation to cross the Suez Canal and seize the Bar Lev Line of Israeli fortifications on October 6, 1973.
[16] George Habbash (1926-2008) was a Christian Palestinian terrorist and politician. He was the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and served as its secretary-general in 1967-2000.
[17] Al-Quds (East Jerusalem), December 4, 2023.
