From the outset of the Hamas attack on Israel, the Palestinian Authority, i.e. the government of the unrecognized state of Palestine, reacted.

President Mahmoud Abbas recalled that the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against “Israeli crimes and violations within the al-Aqsa mosque compound and in the Palestinian territories.”

In its official discourse, the Palestinian Authority always combines religious and political arguments, while in its contempt for Christian Palestinians, Hamas favors religious arguments over politics.

During the closed-door meeting of the Security Council on Sunday, 9 October, the representative of the State of Palestine, Riyad Mansour (who only has observer status) noted that the path to peace does not come “through strengthening oppression and occupation, but by putting an end to them”.

On Monday, 10 October, when the blockade of Gaza began (cutting water, food and electricity supplies), the Palestinian Authority recalled that this method of combat violates International Humanitarian Law.