Palestinian National Authority (ANP) President Mahmoud Abbas opined on Wednesday that the post-war period in Gaza will be a test of the United States’ credibility in resolving the conflict based on UN resolutions.
In an interview with Egyptian television OP TV, in which he also spoke about disagreements with the Islamist group Hamas, Abbas, 88, said he was prepared for the day after the war in the Gaza Strip.
“We will be in Gaza at any time the next day. If an international conference or meeting is held, we will be ready to study the situation based on international legitimacy and the application of that international legitimacy,” Abbas said.
He said this marks the creation of the state of Palestine, “which includes Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” a city occupied by Israel in 1967.
Abbas accused Israel of wanting to “conquer parts of Gaza” but said no one in the world agreed with the Israelis.
“Theoretically, and I say this by the way, the United States of America [EUA] they don’t agree with it either,” he said, quoted by Spanish agency EFE.
“When the time comes, we will tell them that it is time to put into practice what they have said. When the time comes, the US will be tested,” he stated.
Abbas emphasized that Gaza is part of the Palestinian state and that the ANP is against cutting off any part of the territory.
“She [os EUA] They say they are against it, so we are going to tell them that we will implement what they say,” he stated.
“The US can order – and I say this openly – that Israel does so,” he added, referring to the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the creation of a Palestinian state.
The ANP president deplored Washington’s veto of UN Security Council resolutions for a ceasefire in Gaza, where he said “a great crime” is taking place, more than a catastrophe.
“What is happening is terrible in the eyes of the world. Unfortunately, every time the world tries to stop the war, the US responds with a veto and refuses to stop the fighting,” he lamented.
Abbas was referring to the differences between the factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) over how to act, which became apparent at a meeting their representatives, including Hamas, held in Egypt in July.
He explained that at that meeting everyone agreed that the PLO is the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and that it defended “peaceful popular resistance” rather than military means.
“Unfortunately, the conference did not reach an agreement on this,” Abbas said, noting that he called for the creation of a committee to continue Palestinian dialogue with all factions and called for a new meeting in Cairo.
“So far no one has responded,” he said, adding that he invites “everyone, without exception” to dialogue.
A few months after the meeting mentioned by Abbas, Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, in an unprecedented move that sparked the current war in the Gaza Strip.
In the attack, Israel says Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 200 hostages, whose response the Islamist group said caused more than 20,000 deaths and the destruction of much of Gaza.
Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it expelled ANP forces from the Palestinian enclave.
Israel, the United States and the European Union (EU) consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
Source: DN
