Palestinian Authority (PA) cabinet leader Mohammad Mustafa on Monday demanded that the Hamas terrorist organization relinquish control of the Gaza Strip and disarm.
Speaking at a United Nations conference in New York promoting a two-state solution, Mustafa declared, as quoted by CNN, “Hamas must relinquish its control over the strip and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.”
He claimed that “the State of Palestine is the only holder of the right to rule the entire Gaza Strip,” and urged Israel to “withdraw completely” from the territory.
Mustafa also asserted that the Palestinian Authority “rejects violence and terrorism in all its forms, including targeting and attacking civilians.”
The PA has long demanded that Hamas surrender its hold on Gaza, which it seized from the PA in a violent 2007 coup. Since then, the PA has maintained limited control over parts of Judea and Samaria, while Hamas has ruled Gaza.
A unity government between the sides collapsed in 2015 when PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas decided to dissolve it amid a deepening rift between the sides.
Hamas and Abbas’s Fatah faction signed a reconciliation agreement in October of 2017, as part of which Hamas was to transfer power in Gaza by December 1 of that year.
That deadline was initially put back by 10 days and later reportedly hit “obstacles”. It has never been implemented.
In April, Abbas lashed out at Hamas, calling its members “sons of dogs” while demanding the release of Israeli hostages and the group’s disarmament.