PA Head Abbas Calls For International Peace Conference

Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas states that an international peace conference is necessary to both end the Israel-Hamas war and find a lasting peace that could lead to Palestinian statehood. Abbas: "I am with peaceful resistance. I am for negotiations based on an international peace conference and under international auspices that would lead to a solution that will be protected by world powers to establish a sovereign Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem,"

• Abbas stated that should a binding international agreement be reached then he would be sure to "revive the weakened Palestinian Authority, implement long-awaited reforms and hold presidential and parliamentary elections, which were suspended after Hamas won in 2006 and later pushed the PA out of Gaza." Elections across the Palestinian territories would be risky, given the prospect of a Hamas win amid widespread discontent with Abbas' Fatah, which has controlled the West Bank since the PA's formation in 1994.
• The return of PA control to Gaza would both not be assured in any vote, and indeed it is unclear whether the Israeli gov't would countenance such a move. PM Benjamin Netanyahu has stated his opposition to the PA retaking political control of Gaza in its current form, but it remains to be seen how long Netanyahu might hold on to office once the main thrust of the Israeli incursion into Gaza is concluded.