Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar has claimed a letter sent by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to France’spresident calling for Hamas to hand over its weapons, the release of the hostages, and the start of a renewed peace process is full of “lies” and “empty slogans.”
French President Emmanuel Macron enthusiastically welcomed the letter as being one of ” hope, courage and clarity” writing on X: “This is a decisive moment.”
He described Abbas’s commitments as “concrete and unprecedented,” and said they demonstrate a “genuine willingness to move forward.”
Macron said the letter “charts a course toward a horizon of peace.”
The letter was sent ahead of a conference in one weeks time taking place in New York, at which the UK government will join France and Saudi Arabian representatives.
Mahmoud Abbas
Abbas addressed the letter to Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian security forces” who, with Arab and international support, would oversee the terrorist group’s removal from Gaza, the letter said.
It condemned Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel and called for the Iran-backed terrorist group to “immediately release all hostages and captives.”
“The Palestinian people are faced with an existential threat against their lives, their most fundamental and basic rights, and their very presence in their land at a time when the prospect of peace in our region is being jeopardized,” Abbas also wrote.
“The utmost priority is to stop the bloodshed in Gaza,” he said, calling for an “immediate, comprehensive and permanent ceasefire,” alongside the opening of all crossings by Israel, unrestricted humanitarian aid deliveries, the release of hostages and prisoners and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar
Abbas also expressed the Palestinian Authority’s readiness to assume sole governance and security responsibilities in the Gaza Strip.
“The ceasefire and an end of the Israeli assault against the Palestinian people, our land, homes, infrastructure, institutions and holy sites, should be extended to cover all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and should be accompanied with the immediate cessation of all unilateral measures that violate international law by any side,” he added.
Abbas said this would only be achieved by the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel.
He also said he supports the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to implement a peace agreement, and expressed the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to holding presidential and general elections within a year across the Palestinian territory – including East Jerusalem – under international supervision.
Letter from Abbas to Macron
But in a lengthy response Sa’ar posted on X:”President Macron expresses excitement over the orchestrated letter he received from Mahmoud Abbas.
“What made the French president so enthusiastic about a letter full of empty slogans, hollow promises that have been made countless times before, and lies that have no connection to reality?
“614 days have passed since the murderous terror attack of October 7th. Only now does Mahmoud Abbas remember to respond, using weak and feeble language, not even in his own voice, but in a letter to the French president about the largest massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, carried out by members of his own people.
“As if France had been the target of the attack. A sad joke. ”
Peter Lerner
He added:”The corrupt and failed President of the Palestinian Authority claims that he ‘opposes terror.’
“That’s about as true as Yasser Arafat’s claim to ‘oppose terror’ back in 1993.
“In reality, Abbas and the Palestinian Authority continue to pay salaries to terrorists and their families, thus encouraging terror to this very day. ”
But former IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner posted on X:”Every Israeli should read Abbas’ letter.
“We need to decide what our vision is for the State of Israel, under the basic understanding – our neighbours are not going anywhere.”
