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Short answer
Hamas leaders openly declare they will never accept Israel’s existence, insisting all the land “from the river to the sea” belongs to them. Fatah (The PA) echoes the same message, describing control of the West Bank and Gaza as only a “tactical step” toward taking the rest of Israel. Yasser Arafat himself admitted the Oslo Accords were just a ruse, echoing the 1974 “Phased Plan,” a roadmap to Israel’s elimination by stages.
Palestinian schoolbooks, official maps, emblems, and media continue to erase Israel entirely, replacing it with “Palestine.” The evidence is overwhelming: for Fatah, talk of a “two-state solution” is not about coexistence but part of a phased strategy to dismantle the Jewish state. For Hamas, there is no pretense at all — they openly call for Israel’s annihilation and view every inch of the land as theirs.
Long answer
Hamas leaders openly declare they will never accept Israel’s existence, insisting all the land “from the river to the sea” belongs to them. Fatah, often portrayed as “moderate,” echoes that sentiment, describing control of the West Bank and Gaza as only a “tactical step” toward the eventual takeover of all Israel.
Yasser Arafat himself admitted the Oslo Accords were a ruse to advance the 1974 “Phased Plan,” which called for using temporary agreements to “liberate” land step by step until Israel was destroyed. Days before signing Oslo, he even compared it to Muhammad’s Hudaybiyyah treaty — a temporary truce later broken to conquer Mecca.
Palestinian Authority officials have been explicit about this strategy: senior Fatah leader Faysal al-Husseini described Oslo as “a Trojan Horse” and said the goal was the liberation of “Palestine from the river to the sea.” Recognition of Israel was never intended as the end of the conflict but only as a means to an end. The PLO’s official maps and emblem depict all of Israel as “Palestine,” erasing Israel entirely.
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has said more than once that he would not allow a single Israeli in a future Palestinian state — and his comments were clearly directed at Jews. That exposes the core problem: the rejection is not about borders but about Jewish self-determination. The two-state solution is meant to mean two states for two peoples living side by side. But if one of those states bans Jews outright, it isn’t about coexistence or recognition — it’s about erasure.
Palestinian media, sermons, and schoolbooks consistently glorify martyrdom, jihad, and the “return,” making clear the struggle is aimed at replacing Israel, not coexistence. Hamas is even more explicit: its charter declares the land an Islamic waqf — sacred and indivisible — and leaders such as Khaled Mashal and Ghazi Hamad say they will never accept a two-state outcome. They argue October 7 proved “liberation from the river to the sea” is realistic and reject surrendering “one inch” of the land.
The evidence is overwhelming: for Fatah, the “two-state solution” is seen as a phased strategy to dismantle Israel; for Hamas, there is no pretense at all — they openly call for Israel’s annihilation and claim every inch of the land.
