Hamas Says Palestinian Authority Institutions’ Legitimacy Eroding After More Than 20 Years Without Renewal

Hazem Qassem, spokesman for the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas”, said that the legitimacy of national institutions derives primarily from the people, from their ability to embody the people’s national hopes and aspirations, and from adherence to the law, arguing that talk of the erosion of the Palestinian Authority institutions’ legitimacy should not anger some.

Qassem explained that the Palestinian Authority has not renewed its legitimacy for more than twenty years, and has failed to achieve the minimum of the Palestinian people’s aspirations for freedom, pointing to violations of the law and institutions’ seizure of institutions for partisan interests, alongside the spread of nepotism and regionalism and the deepening of political division.

He stressed that these positions do not come in the context of political provocation, but rather with the aim of creating grounds for joint national action, and achieving consensus among the various Palestinian components on a strategy to confront the occupation’s projects.

Qassem called for transcending differences and working to build a national consensus that allows confronting the challenges targeting the Palestinian cause.