France announced on Tuesday it has secured new commitments from the Palestinian Authority (PA) regarding reform, ahead of a forthcoming international conference where Paris could emerge as a leading Western advocate for the recognition of an independent Palestinian state, Reuters reported.
President Emmanuel Macron received a letter from PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, in which Abbas "condemns the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel, calls on all hostages to be released and pledges further reforms," according to the Elysee Palace.
The letter contains also "unprecedented" pledges, Macron's office stated, without offering further details.
The French leader's office quoted Abbas as having written in the letter, "Hamas will no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian Security Forces, which will oversee their removal outside the Occupied Palestinian territory, with Arab and international support."
However, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri dismissed Abbas's assertions, telling Reuters that "Abbas has no legitimacy to speak about the resistance's arms." He added that the French government should be aware that the letter "only represents the opinion of the person who signed it," referring to Abbas.
Abu Zuhri further stated, "Any plan that targets resistance groups or works on overriding it won't succeed."
Recent reports indicated that Macron was leaning towards recognizing a Palestinian state prior to the United Nations conference, which France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting from June 17-20.
However, The Guardian reported this past weekend that the plans for the recognition of a Palestinian state at the conference have been abandoned.
The PA has long urged countries to recognize “Palestine” as a means of bypassing direct talks with Israel.
While several countries have recognized “Palestine” in recent years, those moves were symbolic ones that have little, if any, actual diplomatic effect.