In first, Palestinian Authority’s Abbas condemns Hamas’s October 7 attack

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemns Hamas’s October 7 attack for the first time, while reiterating his call for the terror group to release the remaining hostages.

“What Hamas did on October 7th in killing and taking civilians hostage is unacceptable and condemnable and Hamas has to immediately release all hostages and captives,” Abbas writes in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who this month will co-chair a UN conference aimed at advancing a two-state solution.

While Abbas has long rejected violence as a tool for advancing Palestinian self-determination, he has refrained from specifically publicly condemning Hamas’s actions on October 7, with at least one of his aides arguing that he wouldn’t do so while Israel’s offensive in Gaza was ongoing.

But Abbas is looking to gain support from the international community so that the PA can replace Hamas as the governing authority in Gaza.

In recent months, he has repeatedly condemned Hamas, while also instituting a series of reforms, including one that would end the PA’s controversial policy of rewarding the families of Palestinian security prisoners and slain terrorists who had carried out attacks against Israelis.