President: No Rule for Hamas on the Day After the War

SadaNews - President Mahmoud Abbas met today, Monday, in the British capital London, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

The meeting focused on the latest developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and the bilateral relations between the State of Palestine and the United Kingdom.

The President expressed his appreciation for the positions of the British government, especially its efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire, ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, reject settlement activity and violence by settlers, and work diligently towards achieving a two-state solution. He also valued the historic decision of the United Kingdom to recognize the State of Palestine before the upcoming international peace conference in New York later this month, describing it as a corrective step to historical injustice and an opening for a new horizon towards achieving peace.

The President emphasized the current Palestinian priorities, which include: an immediate and permanent ceasefire, ensuring full access of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the release of hostages and prisoners, the withdrawal of occupation forces, and the beginning of early recovery and reconstruction efforts. The President reiterated that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the State of Palestine, and the state will assume all its responsibilities there with Arab and international support.

He also renewed the commitments of the State of Palestine regarding reform measures, which include education and the establishment of a unified social welfare system, that there will be no rule for Hamas on the day after, and that it will hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, because we want an unarmed state. All this was included in the message addressed to the presidency of the international conference in New York, noting that preparations are underway to hold parliamentary and presidential elections within a year of the end of the war. He confirmed that any party or candidate wishing to participate in the elections must adhere to the political program and the international commitments of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to international legitimacy and the principle of "one authority, one law, and one legitimate security force."

The President reiterated his readiness to work with Britain and Palestine's commitment to peace and the two-state solution, establishing an independent State of Palestine on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel in security, stability, peace, and good neighborliness.

Present at the meeting were Ziad Abu Amro, Head of the International Relations Department in the Palestine Liberation Organization, the President’s Diplomatic Affairs Advisor Majdi Khaldi, and the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Hussam Zumlot.