Palestinian official worries US ‘replicating’ PM’s strategy of boosting Hamas at PA’s expense

A senior Palestinian Authority official expressed concern that the US is replicating Prime Minister Netanyahu's strategy of bolstering Hamas at the PA's expense, after US envoy Jared Kushner met Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt and then Netanyahu in Jerusalem without visiting Ramallah. The official said the PA can play a critical role in stabilizing Gaza and the West Bank. Kushner, in a Fox News interview, dismissed recognizing a Palestinian state, saying the PA falls short on governance standards, and discussed expanding the Abraham Accords after the Israeli election.

A senior Palestinian Authority official expressed concern on Tuesday that the United States is replicating what he described as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strategy of bolstering Hamas at the PA's expense. The remarks to The Times of Israel came two days after US envoy Jared Kushner held a rare in-person meeting with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt, before proceeding to Jerusalem for a sit-down with Netanyahu. Kushner did not stop in Ramallah to see anyone from the PA, which the Trump administration has largely sidelined. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the PA can play a critical role in stabilizing the situation in Gaza and the West Bank and should not be ignored. He recalled how successive Netanyahu governments authorized Qatari payments to Hamas, which allowed for the bolstering of the terror group, even as Jerusalem gradually disengaged from the more moderate PA, which supports a two-state solution. The official was careful not to explicitly criticize the Trump administration, with Ramallah apparently recognizing it has limited leverage at the moment. In a Fox News interview aired Tuesday, Kushner dismissed the possibility of the US recognizing a Palestinian state for the time being, while knocking the PA. He said the PA falls 'very, very short' on the standard needed to qualify for a state and needs reforms. The official insisted Ramallah was working on implementing these steps but was hobbled by punitive measures from Netanyahu's government that have brought the West Bank economy to the brink of collapse. For example, the PA reformed its textbooks but lacks funds to print them as Israel withholds billions of dollars.