أبو مازن: على حماس أن تتخلّى عن غزة والسلاح

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for enabling the State of Palestine to take on its responsibilities in the devastated Gaza Strip. Abu Mazen emphasized, during his speech at the Arab summit held today, Saturday, in Baghdad, the necessity for Hamas to relinquish its weapons and its rule over Gaza. Abbas warned that "the Palestinian cause faces existential dangers," adding that the crimes of genocide in Gaza and the settlement in the West Bank are a colonial project. He stated: "Hamas must give up control of Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority," also calling for the release of all prisoners and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. He stressed the importance of enabling the State of Palestine to take on its responsibilities in Gaza, adding that "Hamas and all factions must hand over their weapons." He announced the Palestinian Authority's readiness to conduct presidential and parliamentary elections next year, saying: "We are moving forward in the process of reforming state institutions."

For his part, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani announced support for the reconstruction of Gaza with an amount of 20 million dollars and the same for Lebanon. Al-Sudani said: "We have called and continue to call for serious and responsible Arab action to save Gaza and to reactivate the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the sector and the West Bank."