Since 2007, Gaza has had its own independent government, run by Hamas. (document)
Ramallah:
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday urged Hamas to quickly agree to the Gaza deal to avoid “dire consequences,” the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
“We call on the Hamas movement to quickly conclude a prisoner agreement to save our Palestinian people from another catastrophic event no less dangerous than the Nakba of 1948,” Abbas said.
The president was referring to the war that marked the founding of the state of Israel and resulted in 760,000 Palestinians fleeing or being forced from their homes.
Abbas’s internationally recognized Palestinian Authority is not participating in talks hosted by Egypt this week aimed at securing a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel after more than four months of war.
The Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, is widely derided by Palestinians who have failed to realize their aspirations for statehood since 1948.
The United States, Israel’s biggest military backer and financier of the Palestinian Authority, has said it supports the establishment of a Palestinian state but wants an overhaul of leadership.
Washington’s top diplomat Antony Blinken said last month that Abbas was “committed” to reforming the Palestinian Authority “so that it can effectively assume responsibility for Gaza so that Gaza and the West Bank can be reunited under Palestinian leadership.” Unite.”
Gaza has been run by Hamas, its own independent government, since Abbas loyalists were expelled from the area in 2007.
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