President Abbas urges Hamas to hand over weapons to Palestinian Authority

Ramallah, July 14 (IANS) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

During his meeting with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the Jordanian capital Amman, Abbas said that "Hamas will not rule Gaza in the post-war era," Xinhua news agency reported quoting Palestinian official news agency WAFA.

He stressed that the only viable solution for the Gaza Strip is Israel's complete withdrawal from the strip and the empowerment of the State of Palestine to assume its responsibilities with Arab and international support.

WAFA said the meeting addressed the latest developments in the Palestinian territories, as well as political and humanitarian developments related to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian president stressed the need to reach an immediate ceasefire, release all hostages and prisoners, and ensure the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip.

During the meeting, Abbas condemned unilateral Israeli measures, including settlement expansion in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and rejected any attempts to annex Palestinian territories, as well as the repeated attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

He also called for launching a political process to implement the two-state solution based on international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, proposing to hold an international peace conference in New York to achieve the goal.

--IANS

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