Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub says the unity agreement with Hamas does not mean that Hamas has to give up its policy of "resistance," the Palestinian Authority's term for terrorist attacks against Israel, since Fatah itself "has not given up and will not give up the resistance," Palestinian Media Watch reported.

Rajoub explained in an interview on the Lebanese TV channel Al-Mayadeen that Fatah wants to achieve "national unity" based on "true partnership" with Hamas:

Al-Mayadeen TV host: "What has actually changed? Why will the reconciliation [with Hamas] eliminate the resistance, or the idea of resistance (i.e., violence)...?"

Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: "First of all, Fatah has not given up and will not give up the resistance. We are ready to enter a dialogue [with Hamas] and to refine our positions in order to reach a general agreement... We want to achieve national unity [with Hamas] on the basis of true partnership."

[Lebanese TV channel Al-Mayadeen's YouTube channel, Oct. 6, 2017]

Another Fatah Central Committee member, Azzam Al-Ahmad, elaborated on this, explaining that Fatah has not changed its principles which remain "popular resistance, armed struggle, and negotiations." "Popular resistance" is a term Palestinian leaders use to refer to violence. During the PA terror wave of 2015-2016, Palestinian Media Watch reported that Mahmoud Abbas used the term "peaceful popular uprising" to describe Palestinian Arab terror that had murdered 14 Israelis by stabbings, car ramming attacks and shootings.

Fatah uses the concept "armed struggle" to describe organized terror using rifles and bombs, as in the PA terror campaign from 2000-2005, also dubbed The Oslo War, in which over 1,200 Israelis were murdered.

Al-Ahmad also added that "there should be a consensus on its form," meaning that there should be agreement between Palestinian Arab factions if and when terror tactics should be used and which tactic should be used each time: