Mahmoud Abbas calls for Hamas’ exit

Palestine president Mahmoud Abbas has surprisingly stated that Hamas must hand over its weapons, military capabilities and withdraw from Gaza, reported New York Times.

He said this ahead of a UN summit on Palestine statehood.

In a letter delivered on Monday to French President Emmanuel Macron and to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, co-chairs of the U.N. summit to take place on June 16-18, Abbas made some “unprecedented” promises, the Élysée Palace claimed, without elaborating further on those pledges.

“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza, and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian [Authority] Security Forces,” Abbas wrote in the missive, according to the France 24 outlet.

“Ramallah was ready to invite Arab and international forces to be deployed as part of a stabilization/protection mission with a [U.N.] Security Council mandate.”

Abbas condemned the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when 1,200 men, women and children were slaughtered, and more than 250 others were dragged back as hostages into the Gaza Strip, as “unacceptable,” according to some French media reports on Tuesday.