The prevailing tension between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Iran increased recently following remarks made by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei about the war in Gaza in a June 3, 2024 speech. Speaking on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Revolution regime, Khamenei praised the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, i.e., Hamas' October 7 attack in southern Israel, calling it a "miracle" and a wonderful operation that dealt Israel a "decisive blow." He added that this attack put the Zionist entity "on the path to destruction and annihilation," thus fulfilling a prediction made by Khomeini 50 years ago. This attack, Khomeini elaborated, was "precisely what the region needed" and came at the right moment, just in time to torpedo the attempts of normalization with Israel and the plan of Israel, the U.S. and several governments in the region to change the power-balance in the Middle East and place it under Israeli domination. He went on to say that "the tragedies in Gaza… the killing of nearly 40,000 people," including children, are "the price the Palestinian nation is paying to save itself."[i]
These statements by Khamenei evoked outrage in the PA, which saw them as proof of Iran's willingness to sacrifice the Palestinians for the sake of its own interests and as incitement to continue the war that is costing so many Palestinian lives. A statement issued by the office of PA President Mahmoud Abbas said that Khamenei's remarks will not promote the establishment of a Palestinian state and prove that Iran's goal is to sacrifice the blood of Palestinian children, women and elderly people. PA and PLO officials stated that Iran is not entitled to determine whether the October 7 operation was necessary, and that the Palestinians, who are paying the price of the war, "do not need wars that don't serve their aspirations," stressing that only the independent Palestinian leadership will decide how to actualize its objectives.
Similar arguments were made in articles published in the PA mouthpiece Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. They accused Iran and Khamenei of exploiting the Palestinian issue and causing the death of Palestinians to further their interests. Khamenei's statements, the articles claimed, prove that October 7 was an Iranian operation, since this country "decided on it, provided the weapons and [determined] its timing and goals." A columnist in the daily stated that, in trying to perpetuate the war, Khamenei was committing an unforgivable sin against the Palestinians and called on him to disassociate himself from the Palestinian cause.
It should be noted that the PA's present accusations against Iran follow other claims it made only recently, when it accused Iran of seeking to overthrow the PA in the West Bank by arming and directing the activity of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militias there in preparation for a military coup against the PA.[ii]
This report presents the furious responses in the PA to the speech of Iranian Leader Khamenei..
Palestinian Presidency: Khamenei's Statements Reveal That Iran's Goal Is To Sacrifice Palestinian Blood
An official response to Khamenei's speech issued by the Palestinian presidency on June 3, 2024 said: "The ones paying the price of the Israeli war [in Gaza] are the Palestinian people… [Khamenei's] statements – which clearly declare that [Iran's] goal is to sacrifice the blood of thousands of Palestinian children, women and elderly people and to destroy the Palestinian land – will not lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinian people have been fighting and struggling for a century, and they do not need wars that don't serve their aspirations of freedom, independence and the preservation of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites. What we want is to end the occupation and realize our [goal of establishing] an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital – not policies that do not serve the Palestinian national goals… and which destroy the Palestinian people and displace them from the land whose identity they have struggled to preserve, generation after generation."[iii]
Abbas Advisor: It Is Not Iran's Place To Determine Whether Or Not The October 7 Attack Was The Right Move; The Palestinian People Did Not Want Hamas' Attack
Mahmoud Habbash, an advisor to Iranian President Mahmoud Abbas, likewise slammed Khamenei for his statements. In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV, he said that it is not Iran's place to assess whether or not the October 7 attack was a correct and a necessary move, and that only the Palestinians have the right to determine this, for it is they who are paying the price of the war. The Palestinian people, he added, did not want this attack and were not consulted, and today they want a ceasefire.[iv]
To view a MEMRI TV clip of his statements, click below:
Palestinian National Council Chair: Khamenei's Statements Are Unacceptable; The Palestinians Don't Need Wars That Don't Serve Their Aspirations
In a similar statement, Rawhi Fattouh, chair of the Palestinian National Council, wrote that "the one paying the price of this ongoing war is our people, and our people is the first to be harmed by this war, which is spilling its blood." He added: "The PLO, Fatah and the [other Palestinian] factions are the ones who for decades have been leading the struggle for the [Palestinian] cause, the most honorable and just cause history has ever known, [and have been doing so] without patronage or instructions from various parties. Palestinian lives are the most precious thing we have, and our decisions are rooted in the interests of our people and in the independence of our national decision-making." He went on to say that "the statements of the Iranian leader Khamenei are unacceptable. Our people, represented by the PLO with President Mahmoud Abbas at its head, does not need wars that do not serve its aspirations to freedom, independence and the preservation of Jerusalem and the Muslim and Christian sites within it. Our people's national and historical leadership is the one that will decide and outline the roadmap for [realizing] our people's aspiration to freedom, independence and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."[5]
Fatah Spokesman: Iran Uses The Palestinians To Protect Itself From Israel
In an interview with Al-Arabiya on June 3, 2024, Fatah spokesman Jamal Nazzal also responded to Khamenei's remarks and contended that Iran uses the Palestinians to protect itself from Israel.
To view a MEMRI TV clip of his statements, click below:
PA Daily: Khamenei's Statements Prove That Iran Is Behind The Al-Aqsa Flood; Hamas Fell Into The Trap Of The Iranian Decision
Pointed criticism of Iran and of Khamenei's statements was also expressed in the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. The daily's June 5 editorial said: "The statements of the Iranian leader, Ali Khamenei, about the Al-Aqsa Flood reveal only one thing, namely that this Flood was of Iranian manufacture. [Iran was the one that] decided on it, provided the weapons and [determined] its timing and goals…
"This flood, which Iran decided to carry out, was not really aimed against Israel, although it targeted the settlements on the Gaza border. It was aimed at the centers of Arab decision-making [i.e., against some of the Arab countries] and against their attempt to change the power-balance in favor of their national and pan-Arab aspirations. [This attempt] displease Iran… which seeks to expand its influence in the Arab region and especially in the Arabian Gulf. That is what Khamenei revealed… when he boasted about the Flood and spoke about 'a plan aimed at changing the equations in the region' and about the Flood coming at the right time to oppose it…
"Hamas fell into the trap of the Iranian decision. It used up most of its [weapons] within six hours on October 7 last year, and was left with nothing but Yassin [RPGs]. Then, six weeks after the Flood [i.e., after October 7], Tehran announced, via a statement by Khamenei himself, that it does not intend to fight on anyone's behalf!!! Hamas today is like the Gaza Strip [itself], with all its painful sights. It continues to fight for one purpose only: in order to regain control of Gaza…"[6]
Palestinian Journalist: Khamenei Must Realize That The Palestinian People Make Their Own Decisions; Like The Heads Of Hamas, He Does Not Care About The Palestinian Losses
Muwaffaq Matar, a member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council and a columnist in the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, attacked Khamenei and exhorted him to understand that the Palestinian people has free will and makes its own decisions, and that only it will decide how and when it will pay the price for the liberation of its land. He wrote: "Nobody in this world, no matter how strong and influential, will decide when and how the Palestinian people will pay the price for liberating its land. This people did not wait for speeches by the heir to the colonialist Persian empire who hides behind Islamist slogans to redeem the soil of its homeland… The Persian leader must now understand that the Palestinian people has already given the world a lexicon of its legitimate national war and struggle, and that this people has independent national decisions and a wise leadership that has become an emblem of courage and of adherence to the Palestinian rights…
"Khamenei knows that the Palestinian people has already decided on its fate and its future in its homeland, Palestine, out of free will that is uninfluenced by prophecies, astrological forecasts and occult divinations!! And it is based on a steadfast belief in its historic and natural right and in its inevitable victory…
"The one now talking of 'prophecies' about Palestine [i.e., Khamenei] does not hide the fact that Tehran supported Hamas so it would serve as its red-hot steel fist in implementing the plot to create an alternative for the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and to grab the Palestinian card as a bargaining chip in [Iran's] negotiations with Washington. [Khamenei] does not [even] hide that his proxies provided the Zionists with religious pretexts to drown Gaza in a flood of blood and destruction which, [Khamenei] claims, 'came at the right time'…
"Khamenei, like the heads of Hamas, does not care about the horrific losses in lives and property [suffered by] the Palestinian people since October 7, which should now be termed 'the Iranian [Al-Aqsa] Flood'!..."[7]
Columnist In PA Daily: Khamenei Wants To Push The Palestinian People To Suicide; That Is An Unforgivable Sin
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida columnist Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul slammed Khamenei for sacrificing the Palestinians for the sake of his regional and imperialistic goals, and urged him to disassociate himself from the Palestinian cause. He wrote: "…There are countries in the region and the world, especially in the capitalist West, that have never stopped trying to impose their will on the Palestinian people and leadership in an attempt to eliminate the [Palestinian] cause and the [Palestinian] enterprise of national liberation. The Islamic Republic of Iran [has been doing the same] since the Ayatollah regime took it over in 1979, [and it continued to do so] even after the emblematic [Palestinian] president Yasser Arafat, in his first meeting with Khomeini, rejected [Iran's] policy of [seeking] hegemony, diverting the compass of the [Palestinian] national struggle and [fostering] hostility towards our Arab brethren. In other words, Arafat refused to be a proxy and a tool of the Iranian regime.
"But the leaders of the Tehran regime never stopped interfering in the Palestinians' affairs, because they wanted an excuse to enable them to insert themselves into the Palestinian cause [and exploit it for their own benefit]… They found no better [option] than to hop on the bandwagon of 'resistance' and 'liberating Jerusalem,' and established the so-called Qods Force [of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], which does not [really] have anything to do with Jerusalem, but is merely a tool for oppressing the Palestinians and the Arabs in general. Despite their fundamental disagreements with the Muslim Brotherhood [movement, the Iranians] formed ties with Hamas, provided it with financial and military aid and joined it in inciting against the PLO and the PA. Even before this, they started supporting the [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad movement, and to this day they have never stopped harming the [Palestinian] national project.
"Despite the Israeli war of extermination against the Palestinian people throughout Palestine, and especially in the Gaza Strip in the last eight months, in which more than 130,000 people have been wounded or martyred… Iranian leader Ali Khamenei charges the Palestinian people 'not to pin their hopes on a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.' That is, he wants to sacrifice the Palestinian people and push them to suicide…
"Khamenei's sin against the Palestinians is unforgivable, because it is a great and grievous sin that does not serve the interests and goals of the Palestinian people and their leadership. Khamenei wants the Israeli-American war of extermination against [the Palestinians] to continue in the service of his extremist nationalistic projects. [He wants] the Palestinians to wage a proxy war on his behalf, like some other Arab forces that are subordinate to his agenda. It would have been better for the chief of the Iranian Ayatollahs [i.e., Khamenei] to allow the Palestinians to extract the thorn for themselves and end the criminal war of extermination on their own terms and according to their own national goals…
"If [Khamenei] really cares about the interests of the Palestinian people and wants to end Israel's hegemony, he must dissociate himself from the Palestinian cause, [start] supporting the PLO and defending the [Palestinian] people from death, expulsion and ethnic cleansing, and advise his Palestinian servants to rally around the flag of the PLO, which is the sole legitimate representative of the [Palestinian] people, and [thereby] reinforce the [Palestinian] national unity. Does the leader of the ayatollahs understand what the Palestinians need?"[8]
[1] English.khamanei.ir, June 8, 2024.
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11329 - Palestinian Authority (PA) And Fatah Harshly Criticize Iran: It Is Undermining The PA And The Jordanian Regime Using Its Proxies – Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad And Muslim Brotherhood – May 15, 2024.
[3] Wafa.ps, June 3, 2024.
[4] Alarabiya.net, June 3, 2024.
[5] Wafa.ps, June 4, 2024.
[6] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), June 5, 2024.
[7] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), June 4, 2024.
[8] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), June 5, 2024.
