By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

Fatah Vows Not to Let Hamas ‘Replicate Its Actions’ in West Bank

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party issues a rare statement vowing not to “allow Hamas, which sacrificed the interests of the Palestinian people for Iran and caused destruction in the Gaza Strip, to replicate its actions in the West Bank.”

The statement comes as Fatah seeks to rally public opinion in support of its ongoing security operation in the Jenin refugee camp targeting Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other armed terror groups who have gradually gained prominence in the northern West Bank.

The statement notably calls out not just Hamas, but also Iran, which Fatah accuses of bankrolling the various armed groups throughout the West Bank, particularly the so-called Jenin Brigade.

Fatah tears into Hamas’s decision to launch a war against Israel with its October 7 onslaught, which Abbas’s party says has led to the death or injury of over 200,000 Palestinians and “catastrophic conditions” in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians hold yellow Fatah movement flags as they demonstrate in support of the Palestinian security forces in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, December 29, 2024.

“Hamas is now attempting to stir security chaos in the West Bank, thereby continuing its policy that brought disaster upon the Palestinian people,” Fatah says, appearing again to reject Hamas’s strategy of armed conflict with Israel.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on the evening of January 11 that he had decided to send a high-level delegation to Qatar to join efforts to seal a hostage-ceasefire deal with the Hamas terror group.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party issues a rare statement vowing not to “allow Hamas, which sacrificed the interests of the Palestinian people for Iran and caused destruction in the Gaza Strip, to replicate its actions in the West Bank.”

The statement notably calls out not just Hamas, but also Iran, which Fatah accuses of bankrolling the various armed groups throughout the West Bank, particularly the so-called Jenin Brigade.

The team departing Saturday night includes Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet director Ron Bar, IDF hostage point man Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, and Netanyahu’s political adviser Ophir Falk.

The decision was made after Netanyahu had assessed the situation regarding the ongoing hostage talks. He was joined at the meeting by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israel’s security chiefs, and officials from the Biden administration and incoming Trump administration.

Netanyahu met with Trump’s incoming US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff in Jerusalem earlier in the day. Witkoff met in Doha on Friday with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who briefed him on the ongoing negotiations, before he traveled to Israel to meet with Netanyahu. Witkoff was set to return to Qatar to participate in the negotiations, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel, along with the senior Israeli delegation.

According to media reports, Witkoff emphasized to Netanyahu during their meeting Saturday that Trump wants a hostage deal by his inauguration on January 20. Channel 12 news said that Trump’s envoy stressed that both sides must show flexibility to get an agreement across the finish line.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) speaks to Mossad chief David Barnea at Mossad headquarters.

According to a report in Israel Hayom, at the end of his meeting with Netanyahu, the two held a conference call with current White House Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, who is leading the US delegation in Qatar.

Hamas sources claimed Saturday that a deal had been reached and was awaiting Netanyahu’s final approval.

Channel 13 news in Israel quoted two sources involved in the negotiations as saying that Netanyahu decided to send Israel’s most senior negotiators to the talks amid “general cautious progress” in the talks with mediators in Qatar.

Relatives of hostages held in Gaza protest outside the Likud Party headquarters in Tel Aviv, January 8, 2025

A senior Israeli official told the network that Hamas has still not provided a list of living hostages to Israel.

A senior source in Hamas told the Qatari outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Saturday that the proposed deal had essentially been completed, with mediators now waiting for Netanyahu’s approval before announcing the agreement.

View of the Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area in southern Gaza’s Rafah

The outlet also reported that under the deal, Israel would not fully withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border until the last day of the agreement’s final phase, after gradually pulling out forces during earlier stages.

The source said Hamas had agreed to put off several unresolved points of contention with Israel until a later phase of the deal, provided the next stages are implemented without delay and as required.

Additionally, the source said talks were now “at the closest point [yet] to completing the agreement,” adding that Hamas and mediators were expecting a response from Israel to come on Saturday.

 

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