Ramallah [Palestine], April 24 (HBTV): Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday delivered a televised speech from Ramallah, strongly criticising Hamas and calling for the group’s disarmament and the release of Israeli hostages.

Abbas referred to Hamas as “sons of dogs” and urged, ‘Release the hostages and block their justifications.’ He condemned what he termed the “Israeli genocide that the Gaza Strip is being subjected to,” calling it a top priority to stop.

He asserted that hostage-taking provides Israel with an excuse to attack Gaza, and he demanded that Hamas ‘end its control over the Gaza Strip, hand over all its affairs to the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the legitimate Palestinian National Authority, and refrain from carrying arms, transforming into a political party that operates according to the laws of the Palestinian state and adheres to international legitimacy.’

Abbas accused Hamas of inflicting “severe damage to the Palestinian cause” since it took control of Gaza in 2007, claiming the group had, ‘whether intentionally or unintentionally, allowed this criminal occupation to find free justifications for executing its conspiracies and crimes in the Gaza Strip, with one of the most prominent excuses being hostage-taking.’

He outlined his vision for a unified Palestinian governance structure under the PLO, calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and implementation of past UN Security Council resolutions through an international peace conference.

Israel has rejected accusations of genocide, stating it is fighting in self‑defence and targeting Hamas. Hamas responded by questioning Abbas’s competence and blaming him for deflecting responsibility for Israeli actions onto Palestinians.

Hamas and Fatah, the principal factions of the PLO, have a history of division since the 2006 elections and the 2007 split, with previous reconciliation attempts in 2017 and 2023 failing amid mutual distrust and incidents of violence.

(ANI)