POMPEO: Hamas and Palestinian Authority Form Terrorist “Unity” Government for “Palestine” With the Chinese Communist Party’s Backing

This week Americans got a good look at just how far American leadership has fallen under the current Administration’s incompetence.  No, I’m not talking about our Vice President’s campaign rally in Wisconsin; I’m talking about the “deal” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) brokered between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA), signed this past Tuesday.

This deal represents a potential diplomatic coup for a group of terrorists who perpetrated one of the worst antisemitic attacks since World War II on October 7th; and at the very least, it is a clear sign of America’s flagging leadership in one of the most important regions in the world.  Americans who care about Israel and future stability in the Middle East should be deeply worried by these developments, and Congress must act quickly to outflank any nonsense the Biden-Harris Administration may pursue as a result of this accord being signed.

In practice, the deal signed between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas to form a “unity” Palestinian government will not change any facts on the ground.  Israel will continue its righteous mission to eliminate the evil of Hamas, regardless of any deal signed between warring Palestinian factions.  Indeed, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to news of the deal by correctly pointing out that “Hamas’s rule will be crushed, and [Palestinian Authority President] Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar.”

What’s more, deep divisions remain between the PA and Hamas, an understandable fact given that Hamas butchered the PA’s political representatives in Gaza back in 2007.  If anything, the deal signals that Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas is working: The terrorist organization is likely feeling desperate and looking for any off-ramp to avoid complete destruction.

By recognizing the PA’s authority, leaders of Hamas may hope to follow the same model embraced by Hezbollah in Lebanon: They can retain their power and existence while calling the shots for a weaker government.  Remember, Hamas is still massively popular with the Palestinian people, despite the Biden-Harris Administration’s assurances it is not – nearly three in four Palestinians approved of Hamas’ October 7th atrocities; and if elections were held today in the West Bank, it would be Hamas, not the PA, that would win.

A “unity” government would be PA in name only – it would be almost entirely propped up by Hamas’ power and popularity.  And if you are naïve enough to think that Hamas would tolerate this state of affairs any longer than it would need to in order to regroup, re-arm, and ready its next attack on Israel – you should not be in a position of authority.

Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris Administration is populated by just such a cast of characters who have sought to stop Israel’s destruction of Hamas at every turn.  With the actual leadership at the top of our country in real question, it should be a serious concern to lawmakers in Congress that this Administration will fall for Hamas’ trick.  President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have repeatedly pushed for a ceasefire agreement that would allow the PA to control both the West Bank and Gaza, an absurd vision that ignores the PA’s endemic corruption, ineptitude, and support for terror – the PA is in no way a valid alternative to Hamas.

Yet in the wake of this deal being signed, a State Department spokesperson once again stated that Team Biden wants the Palestinian Authority governing “a unified Gaza and the West Bank.”  While he added that it did “not support a role for Hamas,” that does not mean it would object to the PA’s governance if Hamas were absorbed into the PA and ceased to be a separate, distinct entity – which is exactly what this deal proposes.  Allowing an Iranian satellite state to prosper next to our most important ally in the region would be a disaster for our security and that of our allies there.

This deal has implications far beyond Gaza and the West Bank.  Simply put, this is what happens when the United States does not lead.  Absent American leadership, the world is not just going to order itself in a way that is beneficial to the United States; powerful nations will step in and impose their own agendas instead.  Beijing has little interest in preserving the security and prosperity of Israel, which is also the only true democracy in the Middle East.  The CCP does have an interest in undermining America’s authority and power everywhere it can.  The Trump Administration’s vision was to stabilize the Middle East through the creation of an American-led system of alliances between Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf states, effectively isolating and deterring Iran in the process.  We actually succeeded in doing that, and it was a nightmare for the CCP.  Now, the CCP is weaponizing the Biden-Harris Administration’s clear antipathy toward Israel against our own interests.

This underlines just how damaging it was for President Biden and Vice President Harris to have effectively snubbed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on his official state visit this week.  President Biden’s meeting with PM Netanyahu was publicly up in the air until finally being held on Thursday, while VP Harris – the presumptive presidential nominee for her party – decided to skip the Israeli leader’s address to a joint session of Congress, instead choosing to speak at a college sorority convention in Indianapolis.  And then of course, there were the reprehensible displays by far-Left activists in our nation’s capital during the Prime Minister’s visit.  All it would have taken to undermine this deal and project confidence and strength to America’s allies was for one of America’s elected leaders to stand side-by-side with Israel and pledge America’s unwavering support.  Instead, Biden and Harris delivered the opposite.  This November, I hope the American people will recognize how important it is for our country to lead with strength and stand with Israel.