• Wants PA to control besieged Palestinian territory; likely to name successor soon
• Israeli attacks claim 18 more lives; European powers call for end to aid blockade
GAZA CITY: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called upon Hamas on Wednesday to lay down arms and hand the running of Gaza to his Palestinian Authority (PA) in order to answer international doubts over the PA’s role at a key moment for the region.
Abbas also urged Hamas to free all Israeli prisoners in Gaza, saying their captivity provided Israel with excuses to attack the territory. Hamas gave “the criminal occupation excuses to commit its crimes in the Gaza Strip”, he said, adding that he was the one paying the price, not Israel.
“Hamas must hand over (its) Gaza responsibilities and hand over its arms to the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority and transform into a political party,” the PA chief said while addressing the central council of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) at Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority in Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Ties between Abbas’s Fatah party and Hamas have been tense. While he had previously called upon Hamas to put its forces under the PA’s control, he has not done so since the start of the Gaza conflict in October 2023.
The PA chief is expected this week to name a successor amid pressure from Western and Arab powers concerned about the PA’s ability to play a viable-long term role in peace efforts.
Hamas has often criticised Abbas for “collaborating with Israel”.
Diplomatic efforts to craft a plan for Gaza’s future have focused on pushing aside Hamas, but Israel said it would not accept any role for the PA, which exercises limited autonomy in the occupied West Bank.
Pressure to name a successor
Abbas, 89, took over the Palestinian leadership after the death of veteran PLO leader Yasser Arafat in 2004. He has for years resisted naming a deputy or successor, but the conflict in Gaza has intensified pressure for him to do so.
Last month, Arab states proposed a plan for Gaza to be temporarily run by a committee before being returned to the PA’s control.
The US, European Union and Gulf monarchies expected to play a role in financing any reconstruction of Gaza have repeatedly urged PA reform.
Talks aimed at reaching a new ceasefire have so far failed to produce any breakthroughs, though a Hamas delegation is currently in Cairo for renewed negotiations with Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Attack on shelter for displaced
On Wednesday, Israel continued to pound Gaza, with rescuers saying 18 people had been killed since dawn, including 11 in a strike on a school-turned-shelter for displaced people.
“The school was housing displaced people. The bombing sparked a massive blaze, and several charred bodies have since been recovered,” an eyewitness said, describing the attack on Yaffa school, in Al Tuffa area of Gaza City.
Aid agencies estimate that the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced due to the bombardment and 51,305 killed by Israeli forces in less than two years.
UK, France and Germany’s appeal
Britain, France and Germany called on Israel on Wednesday to stop blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning of “an acute risk of starvation, epidemic disease and death”.
“We urge Israel to immediately restart a rapid and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza in order to meet the needs of all civilians,” their foreign ministers said in a joint statement. “The Israeli decision to block aid from entering Gaza is intolerable.”
They also criticised Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz for politicising humanitarian aid and described Israeli plans to remain in Gaza as unacceptable. Katz said earlier Israel would continue preventing aid from entering Gaza.
The UN also warned many community kitchens providing food for displaced people were also shutting due to depleting stocks.
Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2025
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