Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh: We Defended Hamas Against Terrorism Accusations At The UN; Our Hearts And Minds Are Open To End The Fatah-Hamas Rift

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said in a December 11, 2023 interview that aired on Al-Araby TV (Qatar) that both Hamas and Fatah are two "pillars" of the Palestinian national movement. He said that Palestinian Authority defended Hamas at the United Nations when it wanted to label Hamas a terrorist organization following October 7. He said that the PA knows that today it is Hamas, tomorrow it is the PFLP, and the next day it will be Fatah. Shtayyeh stated that Fatah's minds and hearts are open to reaching national unity that will end the rift between Hamas and Fatah.

Mohammad Shtayyeh: "Hamas is one of the main components of the Palestinian political scene. Hamas and Fatah are two basic pillars of the Palestinian national movement. We know that this is a slippery slope. We defend Hamas in the United Nations, when the UN wanted to label Hamas a terrorist organization.

"We opposed this resolution and thwarted it, because we know full-well that today it's Hamas, tomorrow it's the PFLP, the next day Fatah... This is not new to us. Even the PLO is registered today in the US Congress as a terrorist organization. Therefore, we defend our national enterprise as a whole.

"We held discussions with Hamas prior to October 7, in El Alamein, and President Abbas formed a committee, in order to continue the dialogue over the outcome of the El Alamein meetings and the earlier meetings in Algeria. Unfortunately, the meetings were not completed, and then the war and the aggression against Gaza took place. However, the bottom line is that our minds and hearts are open, in order to reach a real national unity that will bring an end to the [Hamas-Fatah] rift."