Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:

Shortly after Hamas terrorists and masses of Gazan civilian collaborators tortured, raped, wounded and massacred thousands of innocent Jewish Israeli women, babies, children and men, President Biden warned other actors who might seek to further harm Israel: “Let me say again — to any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, I have one word: Don’t. Don’t.” (“Remarks by President Biden on the Terrorist Attacks in Israel,” Oct. 10, 2023.)

Unfortunately, it is now the Biden administration that is “taking advantage of the situation” by pressing forward with its dangerous, reckless plan to have a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority (PA/PLO/Fatah) terror (pay-to-slay) regime and eventual Palestinian terror state rule Gaza. U.S. State Department officials are working in Ramallah to prepare the PA to rule Gaza, while the Biden administration is pressuring Israel (which opposes PA rule) to accept it.

And after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken despicably and outrageously insisted that the “only” approach is “a pathway to a Palestinian state” and stated that “Israel must stop taking steps that undercut Palestinians’ ability to govern themselves effectively” [video, min. 35:30]. Blinken thus wrongly blamed Israel while saying nothing about the Palestinian Authority’s pay-to-slay terror incitement, and participation in and support for the October 7 atrocities. Instead, Blinken insisted that Israel should turn over tax revenues to the PA, which the PA will use for pay-to-slay payments to murder Jews. (Blinken falsely claimed that the PA will use the revenues for security to benefit Israel.) Blinken moreover threatened that peace between Israel and other regional nations was contingent on Israel “making hard decisions” to allow a Palestinian terror state; and that a Palestinian terror state must be part of any “normalization” efforts.

ZOA reminds President Biden of his own words, “Don’t. Don’t!”

Alarmingly, key members of the Biden administration team in charge of this planning process have records of hostile and/or harmful positions towards Israel, including Hady Amr, who said that he was “inspired” by the Intifada terror wars against Israel, and far-left wing Dan Shapiro, who criticized President Trump’s embassy move for taking Israel’s capital Jerusalem off the table; testified in favor of watering down the Taylor Force Act; and as U.S. ambassador to Israel, lambasted Israel and questioned Israel’s peaceful “intentions” while Palestinian Arab terrorists were murdering innocent Jewish women, which resulted in both Israeli officials and a leading U.S. Congress member condemning Shapiro’s statements.

Here’s why Israel, ZOA and numerous others oppose PA rule over Gaza:

PA rule means joint rule with Hamas and PIJ – or sole Hamas rule again: The PA and its ruling Fatah party have made it clear that the PA is only willing to rule Gaza in a unity government with the Iran-controlled Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror organizations. Fatah Secretary General Jibril Rajoub, who speaks on behalf of PA dictator Mahmoud Abbas, reiterated several times in recent weeks that Hamas “has been part of our [the PA’s] political and social fabric and the fabric of our struggle, and it still is, and it will remain, period. …We will not go to [govern] the Gaza Strip without national agreement that will include political Islam, whether it is our brothers in Hamas or our brothers in [Islamic] Jihad. This is impossible.” (See Palestinian Media Watch videos and translations of this and numerous similar recent statements here.)

And the last time the PA attempted to rule Gaza, Hamas promptly threw PA members off buildings and seized control of Gaza. History will likely repeat itself, as Hamas is far more popular with the Palestinian Arab public than the PA is. (Recent Palestinian polls reveal that 75% of “West Bank” Palestinian Arabs want Hamas to rule Gaza after the current war; most of the remainder want a PA-Hamas unity government to rule Gaza; and only approximately 2% want the PA alone to rule Gaza.)

The PA/Fatah joined in, praised and celebrated Hamas’ October 7 atrocities: Fatah terrorists bragged in a video posted on October 7 on the Bethlehem-Fatah social media channel that Fatah joined Hamas’ October 7 attacks, took over Kibbutz Nahal Oz, killed soldiers and seized military equipment. Top Fatah official Jibril Rajoub called Hamas’ October 7 atrocities a “battle of heroism.” Palestinians in the Palestinian Authority joyously celebrated Hamas October 7 atrocities.

In other words, PA rule means substituting one brutal terror regime with the blood of October 7 on its hands for another.

PA rule in the “West Bank” (Judea/Samaria Areas A, B and H-1) has been a disaster. The PA/PLO/Fatah is responsible for murdering and maiming thousands of innocent Jewish Israelis in the Second Intifada, the knife Intifada and daily shooting, Molotov cocktail, ramming, rock-throwing and stabbing terror attacks. Moreover, the reports about the U.S. plan to place a “revitalized” PA in charge of Gaza says nothing about changing the PA’s murderous ideology, incitement and pay-to-slay payments. The PA/PLO/Fatah leadership’s non-stop incitement, glorification of terrorists and $400 million per year of “pay-to-slay” payments to Arab terrorists to murder Jews should not be rewarded with a mandate to also rule Gaza.

Moreover, the PA/PLO/Fatah leadership has radicalized the Palestinian population under its control, even more than the Gazan population: Recent Palestinian polls show that 85% of the PA population in Judea/Samaria is satisfied with Hamas’ actions on October 7; 82% support Hamas’ decision to perpetrate its October 7 attacks; only 12% believe that Hamas’ decision to perpetrate October 7 was incorrect; and only 5% believe that Hamas committed war crimes. In addition, 89% are satisfied with Yemen’s [the Houthi terrorist group’s] recent actions [launching missiles at Israel and at international ships in the Red Sea].

It would be pure insanity and an even bigger disaster – and will surely not bring peace – to allow Gaza to be ruled by the PA regime that incites and pays and educates Arabs to murder Jews.

A Palestinian state would be an Iranian proxy and would render Israel virtually indefensible: A Palestinian state would end Israel’s vital abilities to enter areas of the PA to stop Palestinian terror cells’ operations and rocket attacks on Israelis and on Israel’s major population centers. A Palestinian state in the “West Bank,” Gaza and eastern Jerusalem would render the tiny remaining area of Israel virtually indefensible.

Hamas’ October 7 Atrocities Must Not Be Rewarded with a Palestinian State. Anyone who is serious about rooting out terror must make sure that terror does not pay.

All the Israeli boys who fell and will fall in the war against Hamas in Gaza will have died in vain if Hamas is replaced with the PA terror regime.