The Palestinian Authority (PA) met with Iran for the first time last week. The historic meeting occurred between senior PA negotiator Saeb Erekat and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. The two high-level representatives met on the sidelines of a meeting of non-aligned nations.

An Israeli official quoted by Agence France-Presse denounced the meeting, saying the PA apparently “has no qualms about meeting the most extremist and violent enemies of peace.”

It is an apt description of Iran, the king of terrorism. The Trumpet has written extensively about how Iran is the driving force behind the terrorist organizations aimed against the West. Iran is the primary sponsor of the most notorious and violent terrorist groups against Israel: Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Hezbollah. Now it is stepping up its support of the Palestinian Authority, run by the terrorist organization Fatah.

When the PA was formed in 1994, relations with Iran were weak, for two reasons: the PA’s ties to Iraq, Iran’s enemy; and Iran’s support for Hamas, the PA’s rival. But relations between the two have been warming since 2000. In 2006, former Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz revealed that Iran secretly agreed to give PA aid in return for permission to build bases in PA-controlled areas in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. After Western nations cut aid to the PA because of Hamas’s growing role in the organization in 2006, Iran filled the vacuum, providing the PA with tens of millions of dollars.

Yet at the same time, the PA has openly criticized Iran’s involvement in the area; PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas told Iran to “stop interfering” in PA affairs in March. The dichotomy between the much-publicized criticism from Abbas and the muted sideline meeting is for public perception.

Western nations continue to send the PA hundreds of millions of dollars in aid; they train its security forces because they view the PA as a moderate alternative to the Hamas terrorists. That the PA is seldom referred to as Fatah, and that America and the West treat it diplomatically like a respectable government, is a huge public relations victory for Fatah. This gives it preeminence over its rivals.

Fatah, which controls the West Bank, still hasn’t renounced its terrorist ways, nor recognized Israel’s right to exist. These positions create the perfect foundation for a relationship with Iran, whose president has called for Israel to be wiped off the map. Yet the United States and the West still pretend Fatah wants a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis.

The PA-Iran meeting is another blatant demonstration that the PA is not a moderate entity that has reformed its terrorist ways. Rather, it is using a pretense of democracy and the West’s gullibility to advance its goals, goals which align perfectly with Iran’s agenda.

The Trumpet has warned for years about Iran’s dealings with anti-Israeli terrorist organizations and its implications for the Middle East peace process. The situation will only get more violent and dangerous for Israel as Iran warms up to the PA.

A stronger relationship with the PA would give Iran greater ability to gain influence in Jerusalem, which borders the West Bank. This is a much more powerful position for Iran to operate from than the Gaza Strip, which its collaborator Hamas controls. Even better for Iran would be a unified terrorist threat. That is what the meeting was about.

Dr. Erekat told PA media that the two had discussed internal PA issues, primarily the ongoing tension between Fatah and Hamas. An Iranian-sponsored unified front between Hamas and Fatah, with Hezbollah to the north, would put Israel in danger of terrorism on all of its borders. Israel has experienced a small measure of security from the division between the PA and Hamas. If Iran manages to suppress their rivalry and motivate them to cooperate—which could be possible both have the same goals—then the possibility of coordinated attacks against Israel from Gaza and West Bank opens up. It would be a terrorist nightmare for Israel, with Iran pulling the strings.

Iran will have effectively encircled Israel and be right at the doorstep of Jerusalem! It’s a win-win situation for Iran and the PA, as the PA will get additional aid and the backing of a regional kingpin. For more information on what Iran’s involvement with these terrorist organizations means for the peace process, read our Trumpet article “Iran Is King.”