PLO Is the Only Legitimate Representative of Palestinians, Abbas Says

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas holds a joint press conference with the Turkish president after their meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on July 25, 2023. ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly said the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), of which he is the chairman, is the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Based out of the West Bank, which forms the bulk of Palestinian territories, the PLO—and by extension the most prominent faction in the organization, Fatah—stands in direct opposition to rival group Hamas, which currently rules the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Abbas made the comments during a phone call with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, during which they discussed the latest developments in the conflict, according to a report from Palestinian state-run news outlet WAFA, also known as the Palestine News Agency.

Mr. Abbas directly criticized Hamas, saying the PLO’s policies, programs, and decisions represent the Palestinian people as the sole legitimate representative, according to the state media. However, references to Hamas have since been removed from the report for unknown reasons.

The original WAFA report on Mr. Abbas’s call said, “The president also stressed that Hamas’ policies and actions do not represent the Palestinian people, and the policies, programs, and decisions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) represent the Palestinian people as their sole legitimate representative.”

However, it now reads, “The president also stressed that the policies, programs, and decisions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) represent the Palestinian people as their sole legitimate representative, and not the policies of any other organization.”

Mr. Abbas further stated that both sides of the conflict, Israel and Hamas, need to release prisoners and detainees.

He stressed his belief that urgent humanitarian corridors should be opened to the Gaza Strip, where civilians remain blockaded, so they can access medical supplies, water, electricity, and fuel.

Mr. Abbas and representatives of WAFA didn’t respond by press time to requests by The Epoch Times for further comment.

Abbas Calls for End to Violence

Israeli forces, supported by a growing deployment of U.S. warships in the region in deterrence posturing aimed at Iran, have positioned themselves along Gaza’s border.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Jewish state’s military aim is to dismantle Hamas and ensure it will no longer be a threat.

Israeli army tanks and vehicles deployed along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on October 13, 2023. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

Mr. Abbas also has called for an end to Israel’s military strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza, which have also killed Palestinian civilians and resulted in the displacement of an estimated 1 million Gazans that he warned may become a “second Nakba.” The Nakba refers to Palestinian displacement, statelessness, and fracturing in 1948, in the First Arab–Israeli War that Israelis refer to as their War of Independence.

Civilians living in the Gaza Strip have been urged by Israel to evacuate from known Hamas locations and hideouts ahead of the growing Israeli military response in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack that left about 1,400 Israelis killed, thousands wounded, and at least 120 kidnapped by Hamas to Gaza. More than 6,000 rockets have been fired by Hamas into Israel since the start of the conflict on Oct. 7.

The United Nations says 2,200 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza, with another 8,714 wounded and at least 1.2 million others forced to flee from northern Gaza. According to the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), more than 400,000 Palestinians have taken shelter in refugee sites in Gaza.

Palestinians queue for water at the Rafah refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip, on Oct. 15, 2023. MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

A Palestinian butcher sells chickens, due to lack of electricity to butcher them, at the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 15, 2023. MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

Mr. Abbas’s comments follow remarks from leaders of the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy, who released a joint Oct. 9 statement asserting that Hamas doesn’t represent the interests of the Palestinian people.

“All of us recognize the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and support equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” the world leaders said.

“But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent those aspirations, and it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed.”