Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Dahlan Form Coalition Against Israel

According to a bombshell report by the Associated Press, the terror organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad have reached historic understandings to form a broad electoral coalition with Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior Fatah figure once marked as their bitterest enemy. The development represents a dramatic reversal against the backdrop of decades of bloodshed, violence and brutal confrontations between the parties.

Dahlan, who served as Gaza's security chief and was expelled from the Strip by Hamas during its violent 2007 takeover, was formally ousted from Fatah ranks in 2010 following a brutal power struggle with Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). Since then he has run an extensive network of connections from his comfortable exile in the United Arab Emirates, maintaining open channels with American and Israeli intelligence officials. Now, cynically exploiting the Authority's weakness, he is navigating an aggressive move to topple Abbas's rule at any cost.

Secret Cairo Summits and Election Planning

The foundation for the alliance was built in recent months under heavy secrecy through a series of summit meetings held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Last August, Dahlan met with Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya for lengthy discussions on "ending the absolute monopoly on national decision-making" and formulating a joint military and political strategy for control of institutions.

Islamic Jihad deputy secretary-general Mohammed al-Hindi openly confirmed details of the agreement in a dramatic interview, declaring that his organization would not run on a separate list but would fully support a "united national list" that would also include independent figures identified with the camp. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Dahlan's camp, Dimitri Diliani, confirmed the cooperation and leveled sharp, unrestrained criticism at the ruling corruption in the Authority's leadership.

The alliance is aimed directly at elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council, theoretically scheduled for November 28, the first such elections in nearly two decades. The partnership grants Hamas direct access to extensive international networks in the Gulf and the West, allowing it to present itself as part of an ostensibly legitimate political camp, while Dahlan rides the wave back to the heart of Palestinian consensus.

The Rot in Abbas's Rule and the Shared Motive

The central engine driving the parties to sign this alliance is deep, collective and unprecedented frustration with Abu Mazen's rule. The 90-year-old leader governs as an aging autocrat completely disconnected from the ground. The intensifying succession crisis in the Palestinian Authority, alongside total collapse of Palestinian public trust in governing institutions, has created a vacuum that Hamas and Dahlan are rushing aggressively to fill.

The historic rivals understood that separation serves only Abbas's survival, and therefore chose to erase the past for one shared goal: crushing the Authority's mechanisms and hostile takeover of national centers. The combination of Dahlan's political capital and international connections with Hamas's military power, popular infrastructure and funding creates a political monster that could swallow all opponents in Judea and Samaria.

Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) (Photo: Shutterstock)

Strategic Earthquake and the Threat That Could Unravel Israel

This emerging alliance is not merely an internal Palestinian political exercise, but a severe blow to Israel's national security, placing the political and security establishment before unprecedented challenges:

Erasing sector boundaries: The cooperation between Hamas and Dahlan's stream completely eliminates the clear distinction maintained for years between the Palestinian Authority and outright terror organizations, dramatically complicating the application of differential policy on the ground.
Granting immunity and legitimacy to terror: Hamas's entry into an official electoral list grants the organization deep political recognition in Judea and Samaria and worldwide, blocking any possibility of shaping a governing mechanism clean of terror in the "day after" in Gaza.
Total collapse of the Authority: Abu Mazen's accelerating collapse without a moderate alternative will create a lethal governing vacuum, in which radical elements seize control and turn weapons directly toward Israeli communities and settlements.
Complicating the diplomatic and regional arena: The move requires Israel to dramatically increase intelligence monitoring and conduct close strategic coordination with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates to block these malicious plans while still in their infancy.

While this scenario is still in formation and depends on elections actually being held, it indicates that the Palestinian arena is burning at its foundations, and Israel must prepare for extreme scenarios that will change the face of the conflict as we know it.