Abbas’ advisor: Perhaps Netanyahu and his government “prepared the conditions” and “led Hamas” to carry out Oct. 7
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “This [Israeli] government was not really interested in the [Israeli] hostages from the beginning. Perhaps the coming days will reveal this issue, which is now being talked about in Israel by the media outlets and Israeli commentators regarding the role of [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu’s government in the events of Oct. 7, [2023] (i.e., Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror war on Israel). Perhaps it prepared the conditions and led Hamas to this issue, because it had a plan that it wanted to carry out in the Gaza Strip using what happened on Oct. 7 as an excuse. It is now carrying out this plan, which is based on eliminating the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian existence, and perhaps it used Hamas on this issue. Hamas may have even assisted, in one way or another, this Israeli objective.”
Video title: “Al-Habbash to Al-Arabiya [TV]: Hamas should prioritize the interests of the Palestinian people over its party interests and hand over the Gaza Strip”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, YouTube channel, April 21, 2025]
Mahmoud Al-Habbash also serves as PA Supreme Shari’ah Judge and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice.
Hamas' Oct. 7 war on Israel - Over 1,100 Israelis, including over 800 civilians, were murdered and over 5,000 wounded, in addition to approximately 251 who were abducted into the Gaza Strip (including 154 later released or liberated - among them 37 whose bodies were retrieved - and at least 41 who were killed on Oct. 7 whose bodies were abducted to Gaza), in a Hamas terror war that began when approximately 3,000 Hamas terrorists and thousands of Gazan civilians broke through Israel's security fence at the Gaza Strip border and launched a surprise attack, taking control of several Israeli towns and attacking a music festival on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, which fell on the Sabbath, Oct. 7, 2023.
