Abbas rejects October 7 attack, ready to work on Gaza peace plan

UNITED NATIONS: Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas told the UN General Assembly Thursday that the October 7 attack on Israel did not represent his people and that he condemned antisemitism, as he talked about a future without Hamas.

However, Abbas said Palestine required support from the international community for government reforms “and conducting presidential and parliamentary elections within a year after the end of the war”.

“Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on October 7 — actions that targeted Israeli civilians and took them hostages — because these actions do not represent the Palestinian people, nor do they represent their just struggle for freedom and independence,” Abbas said in a video address.

At the same time, Abbas said he was ready to work with US President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Nations to implement a Gaza peace plan adopted at a September 22 conference, which he said could pave the way for a just peace and broader regional cooperation.

Read more: Muslim leaders for Gaza ceasefire, reconstruction, stabilisation

A FUTURE SANS HAMAS

When it comes the future, the Palestinian Authority president said “Hamas will not have a role to play in governance,” adding that all the armed groups would have to hand over their weapons as part of the state-building process.

“Hamas and other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian National Authority as part of a process to build the institutions of one state, one law and one, legal security forces.”

“We reiterate that we do not want an armed state. Ladies and gentlemen, our wounds are deep and our calamity is great.”

Read more: UNGA supports future Palestinian state but without Hamas

UNCHECKED ISRAELI OCCUPATION

However, Abbas also discussed the atrocities committed committed by the occupier — Israel.

He said “seven million Palestinians are still living the tragedies of the Nakba and displacement since 1948”.

“Years that our people have spent under occupation, killing, arrests and settlement and the theft of money, property and lands, and this still continues without any deterrent or accountability,” he added.

Abbas lamented that not a single of more than a thousand resolutions at the United Nations was implemented, though the Palestinian authorities had adhered to the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Read more: US confident of ‘some sort of breakthrough’ on Gaza

“We restructured our institutions, and we amended our national charter, and we rejected violence and terrorism and we adopted a culture of peace,” he said.

“We made all our efforts to build the institutions of a modern Palestinian state that lives side by side in peace and security with Israel, but Israel did not adhere to signed agreements and has worked systematically on undermining them.”

It’s a developing story. Details to follow.