From the Liveblog of
Saturday, May 17, 2025
PA’s Abbas calls on Hamas to abandon Gaza rule, relinquish arms
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas calls on Hamas to abandon power in Gaza and, along with other terror groups, to hand over weapons to the PA, in an address at the Arab League summit in Baghdad.
As quoted by the Iraqi News Agency, Abbas says, “The Palestinian cause is facing existential dangers and the genocidal crimes it is facing today in Gaza are part of a colonialist project that undermines the project of an independent Palestinian state.”
“The Palestinian vision supports the adoption of an Arab plan that supports stopping Zionist attacks and achieving peace in the region,” he says.
“The Palestinian Authority is proceeding with a comprehensive reform process that includes all its institutions,” Abbas adds.
Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from Abbas’s Western-backed PA in 2007, and reconciliation attempts between the rivals have repeatedly failed.
The Times of Israel Community.