PA President Abbas welcomes Gaza ceasefire, renews calls for Palestinian statehood

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday welcomed the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization and brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to PA news outlet WAFA.

Abbas called for the swift implementation of “prisoner exchanges,” referring to both the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the Palestinian prisoners serving sentences in Israeli jails. The PA leader further called for international humanitarian aid into Gaza and the reconstruction of the war-torn coastal enclave after two years of war.

Looking ahead, Abbas declared that it was time to bring an “end to Israeli occupation,” calling for a path towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“State of Palestine is ready to work with partners to ensure the agreement’s success,” Abbas stated.

The Palestinian Authority's foreign affairs ministry echoed similar sentiments on its social media account, writing that "these efforts would be a prelude to reaching a permanent political solution," and calling for "an end to the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."

The Palestinian Authority seeks to establish a “Palestinian state” along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. However, three decades after the Oslo Accords between the PA and Israel, the PA continues to refuse recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. Israel, within its internationally recognized borders, is omitted from official PA maps. The PA government in Ramallah has also been accused of systematically inciting against Israel and financially rewarding those who carry out attacks on Israelis through its controversial “pay-for-slay” program.

Abbas argued that “sovereignty over the Gaza Strip belongs to the State of Palestine.”

Notably, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005. In 2006, Hamas won the local elections, and in 2007, Hamas violently expelled its political rival, the Fatah party, which today controls the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority has not exercised control over the Gaza Strip for the past 18 years. Multiple efforts to unify the Palestinian leadership in Gaza and the West Bank have so far failed, largely due to the ongoing rivalry between Hamas and Fatah.

While most of the West opposes Hamas continuing to rule in the Gaza Strip after the war, many believe that a reformed Palestinian Authority will eventually assume responsibility.

However, in December 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that neither Hamas nor Fatah would be allowed to rule Gaza after the war had ended.

“After the great sacrifice of our civilians and our soldiers, I will not allow the entry into Gaza of those who educate for terrorism, support terrorism and finance terrorism,” Netanyahu added.

Last month, multiple countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, unilaterally recognized a State of Palestine during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City. Israel and the United States strongly criticized these diplomatic moves as rewards for Hamas terrorism in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 251 people from southern Israel in 2023.

Netanyahu quickly responded to the UNGA delegation, vowing that the Israeli government would not accept the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“I have a clear message for those leaders who recognize a Palestinian state after the horrific massacre on October 7: you are granting a tremendous reward to terror. And I have another message for you: It will not happen. A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River,” Netanyahu stated.

“For years, I have prevented the establishment of this terror state in the face of immense pressure, both domestic and international… Not only that, we doubled Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria – and we will continue along this path,” he added.