Abbas fumed after Hamas condemnation was added to PA readout without his knowledge

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas did not say earlier this week that Hamas in its October 7 onslaught “does not represent the Palestinian people,” as an official PA media report had initially quoted him as having said, two Palestinian sources reveal to The Times of Israel.

The line had been included in a Wafa report on Abbas’s Sunday call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in what would have been the furthest the PA leader had gone to condemn the Hamas assault.

But the two Palestinian sources say that the line about Hamas’s actions “not represent[ing] the Palestinian people” was added into the Wafa report at the request of PA intelligence chief Majed Faraj.

The apparent condemnation gained media attention, drawing the eye of Abbas who fumed over having not been consulted about the edit and ordered Wafa to remove it, the sources say.

Wafa complied and an updated version of the report on Abbas’s call with Maduro removed that sentence about Hamas.

A spokesperson for Abbas does not respond to a request for comment.