Abbas tells Macron he supports demilitarization of Hamas, commits to holding PA elections within year

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said that Hamas “must hand over its weapons” and called for the deployment of international forces to protect “the Palestinian people,” France announces.

In a letter addressed yesterday to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who this month will co-chair a conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, Abbas outlined the main steps that he thinks must be taken to end the war in Gaza and achieve peace in the Middle East.

“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian Security Forces,” wrote Abbas.

He said he was “ready to invite Arab and international forces to be deployed as part of a stabilization/protection mission with a (UN) Security Council mandate.”

“We are ready to conclude within a clear and binding timeline, and with international support, supervision and guarantees, a peace agreement that ends the Israeli occupation and resolves all outstanding and final status issues,” Abbas wrote.

“Hamas has to immediately release all hostages and captives,” he added.

In a statement, the Elysee Palace welcomes “concrete and unprecedented commitments, demonstrating a real willingness to move towards the implementation of the two-state solution.”

Macron has said he is “determined” to recognise a Palestinian state, but also set out several conditions, including the “demilitarization” of Hamas.

In his letter, Abbas reaffirmed his commitment to reform the Palestinian Authority and confirmed his intention to hold presidential and general elections “within a year” under international auspices.

“The Palestinian State should be the sole provider of security on its territory, but has no intention to be a militarized State.”

The Palestinian Authority has been under pressure from Arab and Western states to undergo significant reform as they push for the body to replace Hamas as Gaza’s governing authority.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused, however, to entertain the option of allowing the PA to return to governing Gaza. This has stopped nearly half a dozen Arab countries from committing to participating in the postwar management of the Strip, as they have conditioned their support on the establishment of a political horizon for an eventual two-state solution.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.