Fatah has rejected Australia's designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.
In a statement released today, Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement expressed its rejection of designating Hamas as a terrorist faction from anyone in the world.
Osama al-Qawasmi, spokesperson for the Fatah Revolutionary Council, said that the Palestinian people, with all their components and factions, are struggling for freedom, justice and national independence.
Of course, Fatah hates Hamas. It has been engaging in a battle against Hamas. In recent years, it has cut off electricity from Gaza, it has stopped giving permits to patients who wanted to leave Gaza for medical reasons, and it has cut off funding to Gaza.
A few years ago, Fatah head and PA president Mahmoud Abbas called Hamas a terrorist organization himself.
But when it comes down to it, Fatah considers Hamas an ally, and Hamas terrorism is a critical component of the Palestinian strategy. It is a "good cop, bad cop" dynamic, where the West happily talks to Fatah as the non-violent side (despite its continued support for its own terrorist wing, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades). Hamas terror attacks sometimes get condemned by Fatah and the PA to maintain the facade but, as this announcement proves, they are on the same side.
