Palestinian Authority (PA) officials reportedly predict that President-elect Donald Trump will “destroy Iran” and that Tehran’s weakening will effectively dismantle the remaining Hamas terror group.

Mohammed Hamdan, secretary-general of the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah party, reportedly made the comments to parliament. new york post On 19 December, the outlet held a meeting in Nablus with other senior Palestinian Authority leaders. Nablus is about an hour’s drive south of the West Bank city of Jenin, where the Western-backed Palestinian Authority this month launched a security operation against armed extremists aligned with Hamas.

The Washington Post first reported the conversation on Monday.

“We are facing Hamas ideology. Our problem is Hamas’s ties to regimes outside of Palestine,” Hamdan told The Washington Post, specifically mentioning Iran.

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Palestinian security forces stand guard during the funeral of Palestinian Authority member Ibrahim Qaddoumi at the Jenin refugee camp in Nablus, West Bank, December 27, 2024. Killed in armed clashes between gunmen. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

He added: “We see that Trump and the Israeli government in power are planning to destroy Iran, so Hamas (followers) have no choice but to become Palestinians.”

On December 6, a dozen extremists stole two Palestinian Authority vehicles and marched through the streets of Jenin while waving Hamas and Islamic State flags, The Washington Post reported.

The Palestinian Authority has since killed at least three extremists in West Bank towns and vowed to arrest or “eliminate” the rest responsible.

Fatah suffered a crushing defeat in the 2006 elections, leading rival Hamas to seize power Control the Gaza Stripstrengthened the rule of Islamic extremism, and repeatedly launched attacks on Israel.

The turning point came when Hamas terrorists attacked. Coordinated attack on southern Israel The attack launched from Gaza on October 7, 2023, killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.

Since then, as Israel has destroyed Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority, backed by the United States and other Western governments, appears ready to resume governance of Gaza after the war ends.

“Hamas rejects international legitimacy, namely United Nations resolutions,” Hamdan said. “The world cannot accept a situation where one side does not accept an international resolution.”

Hamas and other Islamist extremist groups have sowed distrust of the Palestinian Authority, accusing it of closely coordinating with Israel in past security attacks in Jenin.

The Jewish state has cracked down on Jenin in the past and the area has long been considered a terrorist stronghold. Until recently, Palestinian Authority security forces had virtually no presence there, ahead of new security operations this month.

A painting depicting Palestinian President Mahmoud hangs as supporters of the Fatah movement rally ahead of Fatah’s 60th anniversary and to support Palestinian Authority security operations in the Jenin Palestinian refugee camp on December 29, 2024 ·Abbas’s big banner. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

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At least three members of the Palestinian Authority security forces, including a captain in the intelligence service, have been killed in armed clashes with extremists, the Associated Press reported. The Palestinian Authority has arrested dozens of people.

The Washington Post said Palestinian Authority leaders they interviewed condemned Israel’s increase in settlements in the West Bank but said they supported the Jewish state’s right to exist.

Hamdan also reportedly told the Washington Post that PA President Mahmoud Abbas Earlier this year, he lashed out at Israel and the United States at the United Nations General Assembly and “still supports a realistic relationship with the United States to realize Palestinian aspirations.” However, the secretary-general also believes that the United States’ failed foreign policy in the Middle East is Islamic Reasons for growing extremism.

Palestinian security forces carry the body of Palestinian Authority member Ibrahim Qaddoumi in Nablus, West Bank, on December 27, 2024. Palestinian security forces carried the body of Ibrahim Qaddoumi, a member of the Jenin refugee camp. Killed in armed conflict with gunmen. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“Look at what’s happening in Syria. First, the United States declared the rebels al-Qaeda, and then (last week) a U.S. delegation visited Syria,” Hamdan told The Washington Post. “And before that, the United States made an agreement with the Afghan Taliban. As Palestinians, we believe that most of these extremist Islamic groups were created by the United States through its efforts to create a new Middle East.”

On post-war governance of Gaza, an Israeli official told The Washington Post that the Palestinian Authority remains an option but that “corruption” and “terrorism financing” against Israeli settlers in the West Bank need to be stopped.

The official acknowledged that the Palestinian Authority may have a “historically unprecedented opportunity” to regain control of the Palestinian territories.

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The Israeli official added that the Palestinian Authority’s opposition to Hamas could provide unique leverage “to participate in the second day of negotiations.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.