{"id":20558,"date":"2025-04-23T15:47:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T12:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=20558"},"modified":"2025-04-23T15:47:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T12:47:22","slug":"stop-giving-israel-excuses-abbas-calls-out-hamas-over-hostages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/stop-giving-israel-excuses-abbas-calls-out-hamas-over-hostages\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cStop Giving Israel Excuses\u201d: Abbas Calls Out Hamas Over Hostages"},"content":{"rendered":"

RAMALLAH \u2014<\/strong> Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) publicly urged Hamas on Wednesday to immediately release all hostages it is holding, saying doing so would prevent Israel from using their captivity as a pretext for continued military operations in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cHanding over the hostages would strip Israel of its excuses to prolong the war and destroy Gaza,\u201d Abbas said during a speech to the PA\u2019s Central Council.<\/p>\n

Harsh Words for Hamas<\/strong>
\nIn a rare and pointed critique, Abbas blamed Hamas for the devastation in Gaza, referencing the group\u2019s 2007 military coup that ousted the Palestinian Authority from the coastal enclave. \u201cThe one who carried out the coup gave Israel the justification to destroy Gaza,\u201d Abbas said. \u201cThe consequences have been catastrophic \u2014 2,165 families have been completely wiped out, and 6,664 others partially destroyed. More than two-thirds of homes are gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that Hamas must relinquish control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and transform itself into a political party.<\/p>\n

Accusations Against Israel and the U.S.<\/strong>
\nAbbas also rejected what he called efforts by Israel and the United States to displace Gaza\u2019s population, warning that \u201cany forced displacement would be a new Nakba.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael is trying to erase the Palestinian issue \u2014 in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem,\u201d he said, adding that over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7. He also criticized Israel\u2019s withholding of tax revenues collected on behalf of the PA, describing it as part of a broader effort to financially destabilize Palestinian institutions.<\/p>\n

Damage in Rafah: 60\u201375% of City Destroyed<\/strong>
\nThe comments came one day after geospatial analyst Ben Zion Makles released imagery-based estimates suggesting that approximately 60% of Rafah has been completely destroyed, with damage possibly reaching up to 75% when including structurally unsafe buildings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Palestinian Authority president blames 2007 Hamas takeover for destruction in Gaza and urges return of hostages to prevent further escalation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":20559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,6],"tags":[4046,1477,4629,2894,2260,1640,4076,1542],"class_list":["post-20558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-security","tag-gaza-hostages","tag-hamas","tag-israel-gaza-conflict","tag-mahmoud-abbas","tag-palestinian-authority","tag-rafah","tag-u-s-foreign-policy","tag-west-bank"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cStop Giving Israel Excuses\u201d: Abbas Calls Out Hamas Over Hostages - REGA news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cStop Giving Israel Excuses\u201d: Abbas Calls Out Hamas Over Hostages\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Palestinian Authority president blames 2007 Hamas takeover for destruction in Gaza and urges return of hostages to prevent further escalation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/stop-giving-israel-excuses-abbas-calls-out-hamas-over-hostages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"REGA news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-23T12:47:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/abu-mazen.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linoy Reter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Linoy Reter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/stop-giving-israel-excuses-abbas-calls-out-hamas-over-hostages\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/stop-giving-israel-excuses-abbas-calls-out-hamas-over-hostages\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Linoy Reter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c3caaac7990d6bd3d3964fb6e0987409\"},\"headline\":\"\u201cStop Giving Israel Excuses\u201d: Abbas Calls Out Hamas Over Hostages\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-23T12:47:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/stop-giving-israel-excuses-abbas-calls-out-hamas-over-hostages\/\"},\"wordCount\":302,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/stop-giving-israel-excuses-abbas-calls-out-hamas-over-hostages\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/abu-mazen.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Gaza Hostages\",\"Hamas\",\"Israel-Gaza Conflict\",\"Mahmoud Abbas\",\"Palestinian Authority\",\"Rafah\",\"U.S. foreign policy\",\"West Bank\"],\"articleSection\":[\"POLITICS\",\"SECURITY\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/stop-giving-israel-excuses-abbas-calls-out-hamas-over-hostages\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/stop-giving-israel-excuses-abbas-calls-out-hamas-over-hostages\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/stop-giving-israel-excuses-abbas-calls-out-hamas-over-hostages\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cStop Giving Israel Excuses\u201d: Abbas Calls Out Hamas Over Hostages - 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