JERICHO, West Bank — Despite the rising death toll, with 156 Palestinians killed since Oct. 1, 2015, President Mahmoud Abbas made a point of discussing larger regional conflicts during his Jan. 6 speech in Bethlehem. Abbas exclaimed three separate times, “We stand with Saudi Arabia” in its clash against Iran.

In a wide-ranging interview with Al-Monitor at the Negotiations Affairs Department’s office of the PLO, chief negotiator Saeb Erekat adopted a harsh tone against Tehran, saying, “The Iranians should stop poking their noses into the affairs of others or exporting their revolution.”

Ghassan Khatib, former Palestinian minister of labor and director of the Palestinian Authority’s government media center, explained the PA leadership’s position, telling Al-Monitor, “Saudi Arabia has been one of the most generous and consistent donors to the PA. At a time when the PA is in need of stable support from outside, relations with Saudi Arabia count for the PA and need to be taken into consideration.”

Khatib said that Iran’s previous support for Hamas “has led PA officials to think that Iran is a factor contributing to a split in internal Palestinian politics, which is bad for the Palestinian cause.”