Israel's FM Gideon Sa'ar says Abbas 'continues to encourage terrorism' after UNGA speech

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has said the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "continues to encourage terrorism" following his speech on Thursday to the UN General Assembly.

"Mahmoud Abbas, in his Zoom speech to the UN General Assembly, said that he is ready to receive the Gaza Strip, which he so easily lost to Hamas in 2007. How nice of him," Sa’ar said in a post on X.

"Not only does he not fulfill the commitment — on the basis of which the Palestinian Authority was established — to fight terrorism. He also continues to encourage terrorism by paying salaries to terrorists and their families."

Abbas told world leaders on Thursday that his people "reject" the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and pledged that the militant group would have no role in governing Gaza after the ongoing Israel-Hamas war ends.

Speaking via video after the United States revoked his visa, Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly that Palestinians in Gaza "have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement" by Israel.

His speech came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to New York to give his own address in person on Friday.

After laying out in detail the death and destruction in Gaza, Abbas said the Palestinian Authority (PA) — which he presides over — rejects the incursion Hamas carried out on 7 October 2023 and that it does not represent their people.

In that attack, Hamas and other militant groups killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians. A further 251 people were taken as hostages back to Gaza, where 48 are still being held, 20 of whom Israel believes are alive.

Abbas also laid out his vision for what government would look like in territories once the war is over, saying that the PA is "ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security."

He added that "Hamas will have no role to play in governance," and that it will have to hand over all weapons to the PA.

"There can be no justice if Palestine is not freed," Abbas said.

In a short but resolute speech, Abbas thanked the world leaders who have stood up for Palestinians throughout the Gaza war, saying that the recent recognition of Palestinian statehood has presented his people with hope for peace and an end to the conflict.

He welcomed recent announcements from France, the UK and Canada to recognise Palestine as an independent state and called on the remaining countries to do the same.

But, he added, that symbolic recognition is not enough to address the present moment.

"The time has come for the international community to do right by the Palestinian people, so that they may obtain their rights for their legitimate rights to be rid of the occupation and to not remain a hostage to the temperament of Israeli politics, which denies our rights and continue in their injustice, oppression and aggression," Abbas said.

Before concluding, he sent a message of hope to the Palestinian people, saying that no matter how long the suffering continues, "its results will not break our will to live and survive."

"The dawn of freedom will emerge, and the flag of Palestine will fly high in our skies as a symbol of dignity, steadfastness and being free from the occupation," Abbas said. "We will not leave our homeland. We will not leave our lands."

Fatah and Hamas

Abbas heads the PA, the government body run by the Fatah party which has partial civil control over areas in the occupied West Bank.

The PA also governed Gaza until elections in 2006 saw Hamas win the most seats but not enough for a clear majority.

A proposed power-sharing deal between Fatah and Hamas proved impossible to reach and in 2007, Hamas seized power, taking de facto control of the Strip and effectively splitting the Palestinian territories into two separate entities.

Since then there has been little in the way of collaboration between the two groups, and their political positions diverge significantly.

Fatah recognises Israel and is in favour of dialogue to resolve issues, while Hamas' ideology calls for the destruction of Israel and the restoration of traditional Palestinian lands.

Hamas, which describes itself as armed resistance, also sees Fatah as complicit in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank as both sides coordinate on security issues.

The rift between Fatah and Hamas has also led to the repeated postponement of legislative elections in Gaza, making the 2006 vote the last time to date that Palestininans in Gaza were able to choose their leaders.