Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas... is saying that he fully supports China's right to hold more than one million Muslims in re-education camps and crack down on human rights activists and journalists in Hong Kong. Yet Abbas, a Muslim, sees no reason why he or anyone else should ask the ICC to launch an investigation into China's "war crimes" against Muslims.

Why have Palestinian leaders chosen to side with China? Money and political support. The Palestinians are hoping that China will replace the US as an "honest broker" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Palestinians' hate for Israel and the US has blinded them to the point where they are prepared to support the penning up of more than a million Muslims in re-education camps in China. Such a show of support ought to serve as a re-education for the international community about the warped Palestinian perspective of justice.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) says it is determined to proceed with its request that the International Criminal Court (ICC) launch an investigation against Israel for "committing war crimes" against the Palestinians. The PA is hoping that such a move by the ICC would pave the way for filing "war crimes" charges against several Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

While it is seeking to indict Israeli officials for their ostensible "war crimes" against Palestinians, the PA leadership is working to strengthen its relations with China, where more than one million Muslims are being held in detention in re-education camps.

Palestinian leaders have a long record of supporting dictators and autocratic states, including Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, Iraq's Saddam Hussein and the North Korean leader Kim Jon Un. The Palestinian leadership's current support for China's repressive regime is part of a larger pattern. They have proven that they are always ready to support any dictator who openly challenges Israel or the US.

In keeping with that pattern, the PA leaders have also chosen to support China in its repressive measures against the residents of Hong Kong, who have been protesting plans to allow extradition to mainland China. If China has its way, residents of Hong Kong will be exposed to unfair trials and violent treatment in China. There is also fear that China's move will give the mainland greater influence over Hong Kong and allow it to target political and human rights activists and journalists.

At the same time, hardly a day passes without Palestinian officials accusing Israel of committing human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

These officials, however, are deliberately ignoring the plight of Muslims in China, most of whom are Uighur, a predominately Turkic-speaking ethnic group primarily from China's north-western region of Xinjiang. The detained Muslims have never been charged with crimes and have no legal avenues to challenge their detentions. Often, their only crime is being Muslim.

Last month, PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke over the telephone about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Abbas reportedly "appreciated China's efforts to uphold justice on the Palestinian issue and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the Palestinian people, saying that facts have proved time and again that China is the most reliable friend of the Palestinian people."

Instead of raising the issue of his fellow Muslims persecuted in China, Abbas has backed China's supposedly "legitimate position" on persecuting his co-religionists.

Abbas, in other words, is saying that he fully supports China's right to hold more than one million Muslims in re-education camps and crack down on human rights activists and journalists in Hong Kong. Yet Abbas, a Muslim, sees no reason why he or anyone else should ask the ICC to launch an investigation into China's "war crimes" against Muslims.

Instead of following other world leaders in demanding justice for the residents of Hong Kong, Abbas emphasized during the telephone conversation that the "Palestinian side will continue to stand firmly with China and resolutely support China's just position on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other issues concerning China's core interests."

It was the second time in recent months that Abbas publicly supported China in the Hong Kong crisis. In May, Abbas issued a statement in which he said:

"We reiterate our support to the friendly People's Republic of China's right to maintain its sovereignty against any foreign intervention into its internal affairs and the attempts to destabilize it."

This is the same Abbas who in recent months has been expressing strong opposition to Israel's intention to apply its sovereignty to portions of the West Bank.

On one side, Abbas is voicing support for China's right to impose full sovereignty over all its territories, including Hong Kong, and maintain its territorial integrity. On the other side, Abbas is demanding that the international community impose sanctions on Israel if and when it applies sovereignty over some parts of the West Bank. He is also demanding that, because of Israel's plan to extend Israeli law over parts of the West Bank, the ICC should launch a "war crimes" investigation against Israel.

This double-standard stinks of hypocrisy, as well as a sickening disregard for the people of Hong Kong and the oppressed Muslims in China. Abbas has long been accusing Israel of "oppressing" the Palestinians, but now he is supporting the Chinese regime in its atrocities oppressing his Muslim brothers and repressing the residents of Hong Kong.

The Palestinians have chosen not only to remain silent, but to come out in full support of China's concentration camps and its totalitarian regime. Their hate for Israel and the US has blinded them to the point where they are prepared to support the penning up of more than a million Muslims in re-education camps in China. Such a show of support ought to serve as a re-education for the international community about the warped Palestinian perspective of justice.