Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has said that Hamas "must hand over its weapons" and called for the deployment of international forces to protect the Palestinian people, France has announced. The move comes ahead of a conference next week at which Paris could become the most prominent Western power to back recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
In a letter addressed on Monday to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mahmoud Abbas outlined the main steps that he thinks must be taken to end the war in Gaza and achieve peace in the Middle East.
He condemned the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack against Israel, called on all hostages to be released and pledged further reforms, the Elysée announced on Tuesday.
The 89-year-old Palestinian leader has headed the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004.
The PA exercises limited self rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank but lost control of Gaza to its rivals Hamas in 2007. It has previously condemned Hamas for the attack that provoked the Gaza war and has called for the militant group to be disarmed in a future settlement.
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'Unprecedented commitments'
The letter to Macron, who will co-chair an international conference later this month with Saudi Arabia on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, contains "unprecedented" pledges, the Elysée office said, without elaborating.
"Hamas will no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian Security Forces, which will oversee their removal outside the Occupied Palestinian territory, with Arab and international support," the French leader's office quoted Abbas as having written in the letter.
Israel has said it will not accept any role for the PA in Gaza after the war and has denounced countries that consider recognising Palestinian independence, which it says would reward Hamas for its attacks.
In a statement, the Elysée welcomed "concrete and unprecedented commitments, demonstrating a real willingness to move towards the implementation of the two-state solution".
French officials have said Macron is leaning towards recognising a Palestinian state ahead of the UN conference which France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting from June 17-20.
France cools expectations of swift Palestinian state recognition
But formal recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would mark a major policy shift and risk antagonising Israel, which insists that such moves by foreign states are premature.
(with newswires)
