gaza: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on Hamas to relinquish control of Gaza, disarm, and join the political process under the Palestinian Authority, as part of efforts to address regional instability and revive international confidence in Palestinian governance.
\nIn a speech delivered Wednesday in Ramallah, West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the Hamas movement to transfer governance of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, disarm, and transition into a political party. The remarks came during a high-level meeting where Abbas is expected to name a successor, a move seen as crucial to addressing global concerns over the Palestinian Authority\u2019s long-term viability.<\/p>\n
\u201cHamas must hand over (its) Gaza responsibilities and hand over its arms to the responsibility to Palestinian Authority and transform into a political party,\u201d Abbas said, directly addressing internal Palestinian divisions.<\/p>\n
Hamas has rejected previous demands from both Israel and the United States to disarm. The group has not yet responded to Abbas\u2019s latest comments.<\/p>\n
The Palestinian leader also reiterated his criticism of Hamas\u2019s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered a devastating Israeli military campaign in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat attack gave Israel a pretext to destroy Gaza,\u201d Abbas stated, accusing Hamas of undermining broader Palestinian interests.<\/p>\n
Abbas used the speech to renew calls for the international community to pressure Israel into ending its military operations in Gaza and halting settlement expansion in the West Bank.<\/p>\n
He reaffirmed his longstanding position that a lasting peace is only possible through the establishment of a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders.<\/p>\n
Hamas, which opposes Abbas\u2019s approach to peacemaking with Israel, has in the past accused his administration of suppressing armed factions in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n
Abbas, who has served as the President of Palestine since 2008, has had a complicated relation with both Hamas and Israel\u2019s leader Benjamin Nethanyahu. Abbas has consistently criticized Netanyahu\u2019s policies, especially regarding financial support to Hamas.<\/p>\n
He has accused Netanyahu of facilitating Qatari cash transfers to Hamas, which he claims undermines the PA\u2019s authority and hampers reconciliation efforts between Hamas and Fatah.<\/p>\n
Abbas contends that these actions have led to increased violence in the West Bank and Gaza, asserting that Netanyahu\u2019s support for Hamas has backfired<\/p>\n
Abbas\u2019s relationship with Hamas has been fraught with tension. While he has sought to maintain the PA\u2019s dominance in the West Bank, Hamas controls the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
Efforts at reconciliation have often stalled, with both sides accusing each other of undermining unity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
gaza: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on Hamas to relinquish control of Gaza, disarm, and join the political process under the Palestinian Authority, as part of efforts to address regional instability and revive international confidence in Palestinian governance. In a speech delivered Wednesday in Ramallah, West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the Hamas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474373,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-474351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n