Hamas has refused calls in recent months by Israel and the United States to lay down its arms.

Abbas made the remarks during a speech at the opening of the PLO Central Council meeting.

The PA leader has previously criticized the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 which he said gave Israel a pretext to destroy Gaza.
Hamas led over 5,000 terrorists to invade southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 hostages.

Abbas and the PA have often accused Hamas of undermining Palestinian unity, while Hamas has criticized the PA for collaborating with Israel and cracking down on dissent in the West Bank. Ties between Abbas’s Fatah party and Hamas have been tense, with deep political and ideological divisions for nearly two decades.

In 2007 Hamas seized Gaza from Palestinian Authority control in a bloody coup, and the two factions have remained at loggerheads ever since despite repeated efforts at reconciliation.