Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Beirut, Lebanon, May 22, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)
PA officials frequently invoke Quranic verses emphasizing the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque and promise divine reward for “martyrs,” blending scripture with calls to violence.
A recent New York Times article described a Palestinian terrorist from Fatah, the dominant faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization, led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as part of a secular organization.
Setting aside the editorial choice to humanize someone with a long record of terror, this description reflects a misleading narrative that has long distorted Western understanding of Palestinian politics.
Labeling the PA, PLO, and Fatah “secular” in contrast to the openly Islamist Hamas is false and dangerously simplistic. This misconception has fueled decades of failed diplomacy, leading US and European policymakers to misread Palestinian political culture and prescribe “solutions” that collapse upon real-world actualities.
In the West, “secular” implies a separation between religion and state, pragmatic governance, and political flexibility. But among the PA, Fatah, and the PLO, religion and politics are deeply intertwined.
They routinely deploy Islamic rhetoric, not just as political theater but as a foundational element of their ideology. Their worldview mixes nationalism with Islamic doctrine, treating all of historic Palestine as sacred Islamic land.
A core Islamic legal principle, regularly invoked by Palestinian leaders, holds that land once part of Dar al-Islam (the realm of Islam) cannot be ceded to non-Muslims.
• PA textbooks teach that Palestine is a waqf – an Islamic trust – for Muslims forever.
• Fatah statements describe “liberation of all Palestine” as a religious duty, not mere politics.
• In Islamic jurisprudence, relinquishing such land is khiyanah – betrayal of a divine trust.
This religious framework makes any peace agreement that recognizes Israel not merely a compromise, but an act of heresy. The Western idea of “two states for two peoples” is far less accepted among Palestinians than diplomats imagine.
As France, Australia, the UK, and others consider recognizing a Palestinian state without requiring unconditional acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state, they risk rewarding decades of terror, including the horrors of October 7, and entrenching a false narrative that ignores religious absolutism.
Publicly in English, PA leaders project moderation and diplomacy. Domestically, in Arabic, their messaging is steeped in religious calls to resistance.
The PA Religious Affairs Ministry appoints imams and oversees Friday sermons that frame the conflict as jihad to defend Islamic holy sites.
Officials frequently invoke Quranic verses emphasizing the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque and promise divine reward for “martyrs,” blending scripture with calls to violence. State media glorifies “martyrs,” portraying violence as divinely sanctioned defense.
The PA rarely frames the conflict as a territorial dispute. Instead, it portrays the conflict as a religious war, denying Israel’s legitimacy outright. PA officials repeatedly deny Jewish historical and religious ties to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
Abbas infamously claimed in 2015 that Jews were “defiling” al-Aqsa with “filthy feet,” fueling religious hatred and violence. From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, the land is framed as Islamic territory, excluding any Jewish sovereignty.The other side of the PA reality includes corruption, terrorism, and public rejection.
Religious ideology aside, the PA is plagued by corruption, a history of violence, and widespread unpopularity. Fatah’s armed factions, such as al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, have perpetrated terror attacks, even as the PA intermittently cooperates with Israeli security.
Abu Muhamad, spokesman for al-Aqsa, said, “We’re fighting with the resistance in the Al Aqsa Flood,” the name of the Hamas Gaza campaign. Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub said, “Hamas is part of our political and social fabric and our struggle… October 7 was a war of heroism.”
Billions in foreign aid have vanished. Transparency International ranks the PA among the region’s most corrupt governments.This blend of religious extremism, corruption, and violent history shatters the Western myth of the PA as a “moderate” alternative to Hamas.
This religious framing isn’t new. During the Second Intifada (2000–2005), mosque-based mobilization and religious imagery were central to justifying attacks on civilians.
The 2014 “Al-Aqsa in Danger” campaign incited unrest by falsely accusing Israel of plans to destroy the mosque. Ongoing messaging praises attackers as defenders of Islam’s frontiers, keeping the conflict framed in religious terms.
Calls from Washington and European capitals for the PA to govern Gaza after Hamas is removed rest on the mistaken belief that the PA is a moderate option. The reality, absent profound reform, is very different.
Religious framing persists. As long as the PA teaches that all of Israel is illegitimate under Islamic law, any territorial concession is tactical, not permanent.
Corruption undermines legitimacy. Gazans are unlikely to embrace a PA government widely seen as corrupt, as polls still show Hamas is the more popular choice.
Security risks remain. PA-linked militias and police have a history of violence against Israelis.
Governing Gaza
To govern Gaza in a way conducive to peace, the PA would need a comprehensive overhaul:
• Ideological reform: Rewrite textbooks, revise mosque sermons, and stop media incitement.
• Anti-corruption: Enforce transparent governance with independent audits and accountability.
• Democratic legitimacy: Hold free elections only after a complete reform with hopefully less compromised figures.
Failing to confront the PA’s Islamic framing and entrenched hostility to Israel’s legitimacy means any external recognition of a Palestinian state this fall at the UN only rewards terrorism. Even if a political agreement is reached, the doctrine that “Islamic land” can never be surrendered ensures that the goal of “liberating” all of historic Palestine remains alive.
THE PA, PLO, and Fatah are not secular in any Western sense. They are political movements infused with Islamic doctrine, using religious rhetoric to incite violence, delegitimize Israel, and render territorial compromise religiously unacceptable.
Coupled with corruption, terrorism, and public rejection, the vision of the current PA as a stabilizing force in Gaza is dangerously naive.
Without profound ideological, political, and structural reform, handing Gaza over to the PA, which is the Arab states’ preference after Hamas is disarmed, risks replacing one militant regime with another, perpetuating the instability America hopes to end.
This article appeared in the Jerusalem Post on August 14, 2025.
The writer is the director of MEPIN, the Middle East Political Information Network, and senior security editor of The Jerusalem Report. He regularly briefs members of Congress and their foreign policy aides, and the State Department.