Mahmoud Abbas: Hamas’ actions do not represent the Palestinian people

During an interview with the Venezuelan president, the Palestinian Authority president distanced himself from Hamas’ “policies and actions” in Israel and reiterated that the PLO is the only legitimate representative of his people.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that “Hamas’ policies and actions do not represent the Palestinian people,” in the midst of the bloody conflict between Hamas and Israel.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Mahmoud Abbas said during his meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that “Hamas’ policies and actions do not represent the Palestinian people.”

“one actor”

Mahmoud Abbas also announced that the Palestine Liberation Organization, which he leads, is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Unlike Hamas, this authority, which is based in the West Bank, recognizes Israel’s right to “live in peace and security” in the Middle East and does not call for its destruction.

It also received support from Washington on Sunday. In another statement, the White House said that President Joe Biden spoke with Mahmoud Abbas and “condemned Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel.”

He told him: “Hamas does not defend the right of the Palestinian people to dignity and self-determination.”

During his call with Mahmoud Abbas, the US President pledged to provide his “full support” to the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, “especially in Gaza,” according to the statement.

“President Biden offered President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority his full support for these important and ongoing efforts,” the statement said.

These calls for calm come at a time when more than a million Palestinians fled in panic from the northern Gaza Strip, while Israel on Monday continued to mobilize its forces on the outskirts of the Palestinian territories in preparation for an imminent ground attack against Hamas.

More than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel since the attack. Hamas also took 199 hostages, according to Israel.

Israeli reprisals led to the deaths of at least 2,750 people in Gaza, most of them Palestinian civilians, including hundreds of children, according to local authorities.