Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has distanced himself from the radical Islamic Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people with its policies and actions, Abbas said yesterday in a conversation with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to the official WAFA news agency. The only legitimate representative of the Palestinians is the PLO, Abbas emphasized.
Abbas made the comments in light of an imminent Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of toppling Hamas. In recent days there have been signs that the movement is losing support in the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of Gaza Strip residents followed Israel’s request to leave the northern Gaza Strip. According to data from the Israeli army, 600,000 Palestinians have already fled to the south.
Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades and has repeatedly drawn Israel into wars. A week ago, Hamas fighters managed to penetrate Israeli territory in large numbers. In an unprecedented campaign of terror, they killed around 1,400 Israelis and around 160 were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.