Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh described Hamas’s October 7 terrorist massacre as a “courageous and unprecedented operation” that marked “an important crossroad in the history of the Palestinian struggle,” while simultaneously calling for the terror group to join the Palestine Liberation Organization under unified Palestinian leadership.
The remarks, delivered during a July 29 interview on the Mazeej Podcast by Al-Arabiya Network, come as major European nations, including France, the United Kingdom, and Canada, prepare to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations next month, a move that critics warn rewards terrorism and validates Hamas’s strategy of using mass murder to achieve diplomatic gains.
Shtayyeh, who served as Palestinian Authority Prime Minister from 2019 to 2024, offered an explicitly supportive assessment of Hamas’s October 7 massacre — the worst attack against Jewish people since the Holocaust, which killed nearly 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and saw more than 250 kidnapped, of which approximately 50 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 believed alive and 30 deceased. While praising the operation as “courageous,” he acknowledged what he described as tactical failures, suggesting Hamas had not properly calculated the consequences for Gaza’s civilian population.
“October 7 was a courageous and unprecedented operation. Honestly, it is an important crossroad in the history of the Palestinian struggle,” Shtayyeh stated in the interview, according to a translation provided by The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
“But I also say that we should look at where it led things. No person in the world goes on a [reckless] adventure and just jumps in the void, because if you jumped into the void, you’d fall on the ground and break your neck.”
The former Palestinian Authority official criticized Hamas for prioritizing the protection of its members in underground tunnels while failing to consider Gaza’s citizens, calling October 7 “miscalculated” despite his praise for its boldness.
“Any adventure should take into consideration the consequences, because even if Hamas was prepared to protect its members in the tunnels – as brother [Musa] Abu Marzouk stated – it had taken no consideration for the [Gaza] citizens,” Shtayyeh explained. “Therefore, I can say, in one sentence, that October 7 was miscalculated.”
The interview further exposed the supposedly moderate Palestinian Authority’s true alignment with terrorist objectives, revealing that even PA officials embrace Hamas’s violent strategy while seeking to unify Palestinian factions under one extremist umbrella. Shtayyeh called for unity talks between the PLO and Hamas to determine whether Palestinians seek “a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders,” want to “liberate all the land,” or desire “a state ‘from the River to the Sea’” — terminology that implies the complete elimination of Israel.
“We want to reach an agreement [with Hamas] about our goals,” Shtayyeh said. “Then, we need to agree on the way to achieve this goal. It can’t be that one side is making peace [with Israel] on its own, and the other side is going to war by itself. United we go to peace, and united we go to war, under the banner of the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, which is the PLO.”
In a notable public shift, Shtayyeh extended an invitation for Hamas to join the PLO without preconditions, suggesting the terror group could “change its political platform from within” rather than being forced to abandon its extremist positions upfront.
“We are not asking for anything from Hamas. We are not asking them to recognize Israel, or anything. All we are asking Hamas is to join the PLO,” he stated. “Hamas is welcome to become a part of the PLO, and change its political platform from within.”
The timing of Shtayyeh’s remarks is particularly significant as European nations accelerate their push for Palestinian statehood recognition through the same Palestinian Authority that Shtayyeh represented. United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government has signaled its intention to recognize a Palestinian state, prompting Israeli officials to warn that such moves amount to rewarding terrorism.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar recently cautioned European leaders that a Palestinian state under current circumstances would effectively become “Hamastan,” declaring that “Israel will not be the Czechoslovakia of the 21st century” in reference to Western appeasement of Nazi Germany.
President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on the Palestinian Authority and blocked PA officials from traveling to the United Nations for planned statehood recognition efforts scheduled for September at the U.N. The sanctions represent a sharp reversal from the Biden administration’s approach and signal renewed American resolve under the Trump administration against Palestinian statehood initiatives, standing firm with its ally Israel against efforts to reward terrorism.
Recent polling indicates that Israeli support for a two-state solution has plummeted to just 21 percent, an all-time low, while 80 percent of Israelis back Trump’s proposal for Gaza emigration. The data suggests that October 7 fundamentally altered Israeli public opinion regarding Palestinian intentions and the viability of peaceful coexistence.
Shtayyeh’s characterization of October 7 as a “courageous and unprecedented operation” that marked “an important crossroad in the history of the Palestinian struggle” echoes similar boasts from current Hamas leadership. In recent weeks, senior Hamas political bureau member Ghazi Hamad openly credited the massacre with spurring Western recognition of Palestinian statehood, declaring that “the fruits of October 7” had forced the world to address the Palestinian cause.
The matter comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared five principles for Gaza’s post-war governance, established with President Trump. Netanyahu’s plan requires that “Hamas has to lay down its arms,” Gaza “has to be demilitarized,” hostages “have to be released,” Israel will maintain “overall security,” and Gaza must “be governed by a civilian authority that is not hostile.”
“I don’t want to govern Gaza,” Netanyahu stated as the IDF gears up for an operation aimed at completely dismantling Hamas rule and transferring Gaza to new leadership. “I want to have a different governance that is willing to live in peace with Israel and give Gazans a different future.” Netanyahu, who has persistently rejected the Palestinian Authority as a viable governing alternative, finds his skepticism of PA “moderation” further reinforced by Shtayyeh’s praise for the October 7 massacre and welcoming of the Hamas terrorist group into the PLO with open arms.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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