Hamas must free hostages and disarm, Palestinian chief demands

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas meets with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, calls on Hamas to disarm and to release remaining 50 hostages held in Gaza.

By World Israel News Staff

The leader of the Palestinian Authority called on the Hamas terror organization over the weekend to surrender its weapons and return the remaining 50 hostages held in the Gaza Strip to Israel.

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Amman, Jordan, on Sunday for talks on the war in Gaza, efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and the postwar governance of the coastal enclave.

During their meeting, Abbas emphasized to Blair – who previously served as envoy for the Middle East Quartet representing the United Nations, U.S., European Union, and Russia – the Palestinian Authority’s rejection of Hamas rule over Gaza after the current war.

Abbas reiterated Ramallah’s position that the Gaza Strip must be placed under the authority of the Palestinian Authority, which governed the Strip from 1994 until its takeover by Hamas in 2007.

“Hamas will not control Gaza the day after the war,” Abbas said.

The 89-year-old PLO leader also demanded that Hamas disarm, while also calling for a complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

“It must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority. The only way to resolve the situation is a full Israeli withdrawal from the Strip and transferring control of the Strip to the ‘State of Palestine’.”

According to a report by the PA mouthpiece WAFA, Abbas also called on Hamas to release the remaining 50 hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Of the 50 captives still held in Gaza, fewer than half are believed to be still alive.

The Palestinian Authority chairman also warned Israel against taking any “unilateral measures,” including expansion of Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria or the application of Israeli sovereignty over parts of the area.

Abbas, head of the PLO and leader of the ruling Fatah party, first condemned the 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel last month, despite pressure since October 7th, 2023 to distance himself from the Islamist terror group’s actions.