Excerpt of an editorial by the official PA daily
Headline: “The secret victory!”
“Islamic Jihad Movement Secretary-General [Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh] announced from Tehran that a Palestinian national reconciliation is impossible (!) [parentheses in source], and that his Movement opposes the political fundamentals of the PLO, which are based on an agreement! In Tehran, Hamas Movement Political Bureau Head Ismail Haniyeh delivered his credentials with full pride (!) [parentheses in source] to new Iranian President [Ebrahim Raisi], while presenting to him as a gift the blood of the victims and Martyrs from among our people who fell in the recent Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, under the headline ‘The victory in the Sword of Jerusalem battle’ (refers to Fatah/Hamas riot and rocket war; see note below -Ed.)! This is a victory that does not exist in reality, except as a word in a speech…
Of course, like Haniyeh, Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh also delivered his credentials to his patron in Tehran. Through this statement, he revealed the positions against the national reconciliation on the one hand and against the PLO on the other hand; [positions] that his patron is interested in! How does reconciliation with your brother turn into something impossible? …
Let us return to Haniyeh and the victory that he speaks about…
Apparently, this is a secret victory! After all, there is nothing in reality that indicates it, and there are no results on the ground that indicate it! The battle for Jerusalem is still continuing, and the occupation has returned to its arbitrary and violent measures against the holy city, but the resistance of [Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades Spokesman] (i.e., Hamas’ military wing) Abu Ubeida has not returned, who said: ‘But if you return [to sin], We will return [to punishment]’ [Quran 17:8, Sahih International translation]! The reality is that Hamas has indeed returned, [not to resistance] but rather to its populist speeches and the attempts to exploit the blood of the Martyrs and victims in states that do not want the existence of the PLO or the victory of its national liberation project!”