Palestinian president calls on Hamas to lay down its arms

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday called on the militant group Hamas to relinquish responsibility for the Gaza Strip, hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority and turn into a political party.

Hamas has rejected calls in recent months from Israel and the United States to lay down its arms, Reuters reports.

Abbas made his comments in a speech during a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, at which he is expected to name a successor, part of efforts to respond to international doubts about the viability of the Palestinian Authority at a critical moment for the region.

"Hamas must hand over its responsibilities in Gaza, hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority and transform itself into a political party," Abbas said.

Abbas has criticized the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which he said gave Israel a pretext to destroy Gaza. 

Israel has launched its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza following the Hamas-led attack.

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Hamas, which opposes Abbas's peace efforts with Israel, has accused him of cracking down on militant factions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 

Abbas has also called on world leaders to force Israel to end the war in Gaza, withdraw its forces and end Jewish settlement activities, adding that there can be no peace until the Palestinians establish a state within the borders that were in place before the 1967 Middle East war.