Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas called on April 23 for the Hamas terrorist group to lay down arms and hand over the running of the Gaza Strip to his organization.
The veteran leader urged the move as part of efforts to answer international doubts about the authority’s role and capabilities in the wake of the unrest that has gripped the region for almost two years.
“Hamas must hand over [its] Gaza responsibilities and hand over its arms to the responsibility of the [PA] and transform into a political party,” Abbas said.
He was speaking at a PA leadership council where he is expected to name a successor this week, amid pressure from Western and Arab nations that are concerned that the West Bank-based group may not be able to play a viable role in securing peace.
While the 89-year-old politician has in the past called on his rival Hamas to put its forces under the authority’s control, he has not done so since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Hostilities broke out after Hamas terrorists killed about 1,200 people and seized about 250 hostages in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Abbas had previously criticized the attack, which he said gave Israel a pretext to destroy the Gaza Strip.
Diplomatic efforts to formulate a plan for the Gaza Strip’s future have focused on pushing aside Hamas, but Israel has also said it will not accept any role for the PA, which notionally runs the other Palestinian enclave of the West Bank.
Hamas kicked the PA out of the Gaza Strip during a short civil war in 2007.
The terrorist group has refused calls from Israel and the United States to lay down its arms.
Abbas made his latest remarks while speaking to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council, which holds observer status at the United Nations as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and is the dominant force within the authority.
Abbas took the helm of the Palestinian leadership following the death of PLO leader Yasser Arafat in 2004.
For years, Abbas has resisted naming any deputy or successor, but the war between Hamas and Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip has intensified pressure on him to clarify succession.
In March, Arab states proposed a postwar plan for the Gaza Strip to be temporarily run by a committee before being returned to the PA’s control.
Washington, the European Union, and the Arab Gulf states, which are expected to play a role in financing the postwar reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, have repeatedly called for reform of the authority.
The leader of the terrorist group’s negotiating team, Khalil al-Hayya, said in a televised speech on April 17 that Hamas would not agree to more partial deals with Israel.
He demanded instead a comprehensive plan to end the war and swap Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel had sought the release of 10 living hostages in return for a 45-day cease-fire, according to The Times of Israel.
Israel also offered to free 1,231 Palestinian security prisoners and resume the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, according to the outlet.
The terrorist group still holds 59 Israelis, with up to 24 believed to be alive.
Israel seeks the return of the bodies of dead hostages as well.
Hamas has already rejected one of Israel’s conditions: that it lay down its arms.
In his speech, al-Hayya accused Israel of offering a counterproposal with “impossible conditions.”
Hamas released 38 hostages under a cease-fire that began on Jan. 19.
In March, Israel’s military resumed its ground and aerial offensive on the Gaza Strip, abandoning the cease-fire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the truce without ending the war.
Israeli officials have said the offensive will continue until the remaining 59 hostages are returned and the Gaza Strip is demilitarized.
Hamas has said it will free hostages only as part of a deal to end the war and has rejected demands to disarm.
Dan Berger contributed to this report.
