Mahmud Abbas

By Muhammad Abubakar

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called on Hamas to release all remaining hostages and relinquish control of the Gaza Strip, in a rare and direct rebuke of the group.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Abbas said that Hamas’s actions had not only deepened the suffering of Palestinians but also provided Israel with “excuses to commit its crimes.”

“Hamas must take responsibility for its decisions and the consequences they have brought upon our people,” Abbas said. “They must release all hostages and step aside to allow for national unity and reconstruction.”

The statement comes amid ongoing violence in Gaza and heightened international pressure to reach a ceasefire and address the humanitarian crisis. Abbas’s remarks reflect growing tensions between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007.

There was no immediate response from Hamas to the comments.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas has strongly rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip.

A statement from Abbas’s office, released on Wednesday, reiterated the Palestinian leadership’s firm opposition to any efforts to seize Gaza and force Palestinians out of their homeland.

“President Mahmud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership expressed their strong rejection of calls to seize the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians outside their homeland,” the statement read.

It added that “legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable.”

In a broadcast on Palestinian public television, Abbas’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, underlined that the Gaza Strip “is an integral part of the State of Palestine.”

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which Abbas leads, also condemned Trump’s plan to resettle Gazans in Egypt or Jordan.

Hussein al-Sheikh, the PLO’s secretary-general, rejected “all calls for the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland.”