JAKARTA - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday asked the militant group Hamas to hand over responsibility for the Gaza Strip, hand it over to the Palestinian Authority and turn itself into a political party.
President Abbas made his remarks in a speech while attending a meeting in Ramallah City, West Bank, in which he is expected to appoint a replacement, as part of an effort to address international doubts over the survival of the Palestinian Authority at a critical time for the region.
"Hamas must hand over its responsibilities in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority and turn into a political party," President Abbas said.
Quoted from WAFA, President Abbas today chaired the Fatah Central Committee meeting at the presidential office of Ramallah.
Hamas itself is known to have rejected calls in recent months by Israel and the United States to lay down its weapons.
Earlier, President Abbas criticized the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which he said gave Israel an excuse to destroy Gaza.
Israel launched its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, after an attack led by Hamas and killed about 1,200 people and 250 others held hostage, according to Israeli calculations.
Meanwhile, medical sources in Gaza confirmed that the number of Palestinian deaths in the enclave had reached 51,305 people and 117,096 others were injured since the latest conflict broke out in 2023. The majority of victims were children and women.
According to the same source, the death toll since Israel restarted genocide on March 18, after a two-month ceasefire, also rose to 1,783 people, in addition to 4,683 others injured.
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Hamas, who opposed President Abbas' efforts to create peace with Israel, accused him of taking firm action against militant groups in Israel's occupied West Bank. Hamas did not immediately comment on President Abbas's latest statement.
President Abbas is known to urge world leaders to force Israel to end the war in Gaza, withdraw its troops and end Jewish settlement activities, adding there would be no peace until Palestinians set up a state on the border that took effect before the 1967 Middle East war.
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