Palestinian authorities, President Mahmoud Abbas, lashed out at Hamas in a televised speech in Ramallah, calling the group “son of D0GS” asking them to release all remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza and abandon their weapons.
He insisted that ending what he described as Israel’s “genocide” must be given priority in Gaza – those who continue to hold hostages only provide Israel with excuses to escalate its attack.
“Son of the dog, release the hostages and stop the reason,” Abbas said in a lengthy television speech on Wednesday in Ramallah.
Israel strongly denied the allegations of genocide, saying its war in Gaza is defending itself and targeting Hamas.
The unprecedented remarks are perhaps Abbas’ strongest public criticism of Hamas to date and mark a significant shift in the tone of the aging Palestinian leader. They emerged in renewed efforts to re-enforce the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, and Egypt has recently proposed the idea of disarmament of the group.
Abbas outlines six visions for Gaza’s future under the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). He said Hamas must give up control of the Gaza Strip, hand over all governance to the PLO and PNA, and transition to parties acting in accordance with Palestinian laws and international norms, “without weapons at all.”
Since the capture of Gaza in 2007, he accused Hamas of causing “serious damage to the Palestinian cause”, believing that the group’s hostages gave Israel a “reason for freedom” to its military operations. Abbas also renewed its call for an international peace conference and fully implementing UN Security Council resolutions, demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territory.
Hamas quickly rejected his comments, questioning Abbas’ authority and insisted that he unfairly blamed the Palestinians on the violence of the occupation. The two factions have been in a painful competition since Hamas’s 2006 election victory and subsequent takeover of Gaza.
Abbas responded to the long-standing demand for Palestinian unification under the Plo umbrella, which has been repeatedly faltering despite Cairo (2017) and Beijing (2024), despite the settlement agreement.
