Palestinian Authority took part in October 7 massacre, says ex-intel officer

Israeli researcher and former army intel officer says terrorists from the PA’s ruling Fatah party were filmed taking part in the October 7 massacres, with some indications that the PA itself quietly backed participation in the invasion.

By World Israel News Staff

Terrorists linked to the Palestinian Authority’s ruling party took an active role in the massacres in southwestern Israel on October 7, 2023, a senior researcher and former IDF intelligence officer said Tuesday, adding there is evidence suggesting the PA itself colluded with Hamas.

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi, a senior researcher of the Middle East and radical Islam at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs and co-founder of the Orient Research Group Ltd., said there is a growing body of evidence linking Fatah and Fatah-associated groups to October 7.

Halevi noted that prior to October 7, Hamas’ senior leadership had actively worked to unite all armed terrorist factions in Gaza into a single cohesive fighting force.

To that effect, in 2017, Hamas deputy chief Salah al-Arouri established the Joint Operations Room — a central authority under Hamas control to coordinate actions taken by all terrorist groups in Gaza.

“Al-Arouri said clearly that past disputes were no longer relevant,” Halevi said. “The goal was to create a joint military force, armed and trained by Hamas. That was the system in place on the day of the attack.”

Halevi noted that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, formerly the official military wing of Fatah and still closely tied to the party, was among the factions to join the Joint Operations Room.

Hamas, Halevi continued, integrated other terrorist groups into its invasion on the morning of October 7.

“The first wave was carried out by [Hamas’] Al-Qassam Brigades and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Smaller organizations joined in the second wave, filming themselves fighting inside Israeli communities, looting weapons and equipment, and abducting hostages to Gaza,” Halevi said.

In a statement issued by the Palestinian Authority on October 7, during the invasion, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas “did not denounce the October 7 assault. His words can be read as justification for it, portraying it as self-defense, Halevi noted.

Fatah statements issued that day explicitly called on Palestinians across Judea and Samaria to attack Israeli civilians and security personnel.

Some branches of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades issued calls such as “Kill them, slaughter them, and burn them.”

Halevi said that the direct involvement of Fatah terrorists in the October 7 invasion and subsequent massacres has already been verified with photographic and video documentation, which he published on his X account.

While no smoking gun has been found linking the Palestinian Authority’s senior leadership to the invasion, Halevi pointed out that despite the terror group’s involvement in the attacks, Abbas and the PA have never disowned or distanced themselves from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.

Abbas, Halevi said, has often quietly encouraged terror attacks on Israelis while maintaining plausible deniability.

“It is reminiscent of Yasser Arafat’s tactics,” said Halevi. “But more sophisticated. They call for ‘peaceful resistance,’ but in that definition they include terror attacks.”