Abbas pledges reforms in letter to Macron

On June 9th, France announced it had received confirmation from the head of the Palestinian Authority (PA), President Mahmoud Abbas, of its readiness to implement reforms, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. The announcement comes ahead of a conference scheduled from June 17th to 20th, where France appears to be the most prominent Western power backing the recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

The Elysée confirmed that Abbas sent a letter to President Emmanuel Macron, condemning the Hamas attacks of October 7th, 2023. In the letter, Abbas also called for the release of all hostages and pledged to implement further reforms within the PA.

Having succeeded Yasser Arafat in 2004 as head of the internationally recognised authority, Abbas reportedly made what Macron’s administration described as “unprecedented” commitments in the letter, though no further details were disclosed. The French president is working to organise an international conference alongside Saudi Arabia during the week of June 16th to discuss prospects for the international recognition of a Palestinian state.

Quoting from Abbas’s letter, Macron’s office stated: “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.”

Meanwhile, Israel has reaffirmed it will not recognise the PA in any governing role once the war ends, denouncing states that do so as condoning Hamas’s attacks.

Nonetheless, French authorities have indicated that Macron is expected to move towards recognising Palestine as a state ahead of the French–Saudi Arabian co-hosted conference from June 17th to 20th.

Asharq Al-Awsat, Maghrebi.org