Palestinian leader tells UN no role for Hamas in state
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday rejected any future role for Hamas and condemned antisemitism, as he appealed for full global support for a state in the face of Israeli annexation threats.
Days after France led a special summit and several Western powers recognized a state of Palestine, the veteran 89-year-old leader was forced to address the UN General Assembly by video after the US took the unusual step of denying him a visa to come to New York.
Abbas took a moderate tone in his speech as he directly took up key concerns of Israel and the US — notably on Hamas, which is based in Gaza and is the rival to his Fatah movement.
“Hamas will not have a role to play in governance. Hamas and other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian National Authority,” Abbas said in a speech…
