Palestinian president: Hamas will have no role in governing post-war Gaza

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas appears on a screen at UN headquarters as he speaks virtually during a high-profile meeting at the United Nations aimed at galvanising support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

The Palestinian president, speaking to world leaders over video after the US revoked his visa, said his people “reject” the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and pledged that the militant group would have no role in governing Gaza after the war ends and must hand over its weapons.

Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly that Palestinians in Gaza “have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement” by Israel.