Palestinian Authority Says Hamas Is ‘Holding More than Two Million Palestinians Hostage’

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has never condemned the October 7 atrocities, and it even continues to defend them as “legitimate resistance.”

To be clear, any disapproval of Hamas by the PA is not about expressing criticism over the Israelis who were murdered, raped, tortured, and kidnapped on October 7. It has only to do with internal competition for favor among the Palestinian population, as Hamas has grown tremendously in popularity since October 7.

That is why the PA is currently lashing out at Hamas for continuing to fight at the expense of Palestinian civilians.

Through an article in its official daily, the PA complained that Hamas is using the Gazan civilian population as “human shields” and “holding more than 2 million Palestinians hostage.”

The headline of the article called on Hamas politicians to “close the gates of hell”:

Headline: “O Hamas politicians, close the gates of hell with rationality”

“None of us demands obedience and submission, as claimed by the Hamas politicians, but only a bit of rationality, realism, and an abandonment of the irresponsible behavior.

This is because our people in the Gaza Strip is paying the price of the hopeless behavior of the Hamas politicians, their political ignorance, and the lack of courage to make the most appropriate decision to stop the destruction campaign.

In reality, they are holding more than two million Palestinian residents hostage and using them as human shields to preserve their organization.” [emphasis added]

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 20, 2025]

Also in an editorial, the PA accused Hamas of being trapped in an “illusion,” imagining that they are going to “safely” end the war and return to power through the Israeli hostages:

Over 50,000 female and male Martyrs [unverified casualty figures from Hamas and the PA] have not convinced Hamas to act wisely and escape the illusion that has overtaken it and still makes it imagine that the Israeli hostages in its possession are the way for its safe exit from this war and its return to the throne of power in the Gaza Strip!”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 19, 2025]

Moreover, the editorial expressed the opinion that Hamas can’t be part of the political plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip:

[We should be] demanding from Hamas that the Gaza Strip be out of its political plan, and that it not remain part of its ideology and project … In short, there is no reconstruction with Hamas.

Former General Political Commissioner of the PLO Political and National Guidance Authority Adnan Al-Damiri criticized Hamas along the same lines, calling for Allah to take revenge not only on Israel but also on Hamas who “with their stupidity and adventures” have destroyed the Gaza Strip:

Hamas presents the residents of the Gaza Strip with an alleged victory even before the liberation of Rafah, Jabaliya, Gaza, and Khan Yunis from the occupation [i.e., Israel], at a time when the people is uprooted and homeless in tents.

Your gift has been returned to you. Delight in the illusion that you have created with the blood of the children of Gaza. You presented your alleged victory to Iran and its leaders before the people of Gaza, and it did not benefit them at all …

O Allah, take revenge on those who oppressed Gaza, destroyed it, orphaned its children, widowed its women, and destroyed its homes with their weapons [i.e., Israel] or with their stupidity and adventures [i.e., Hamas].” [emphasis added]

[Adnan Al-Damiri, Facebook page, March 13, 2025]

The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.

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