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Mahmoud Abbas

The latest news on Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian politician and President of the State of Palestine, including political news and updates.

Born

15 Nov 1935

Industry

Politics

Job Title

Politician

Palestinians walk along the separation barrier between the West Bank and east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Beit Hanina. Photo: AP

Israel-Gaza war

Israel launches new West Bank land policy seen as a ‘mega land grab’

West Bank land registration will force anyone who has a claim to land to prove ownership, a move decried by Palestinians.

16 Feb 2026 - 11:15AM

China-Middle East relations

Israel’s China envoy calls to deepen historical ties in rare media outreach

1 Feb 2026 - 7:29PMvideocam

Israel-Gaza war

Putin invited to Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ on Gaza conflict: Kremlin

19 Jan 2026 - 8:31PM

Israel-Gaza war

Egypt trains hundreds of Palestinian officers to police post-war Gaza

Palestinian movements have agreed to a force of around 10,000 officers but Israel opposes Hamas or Palestinian Authority involvement in Gaza.

30 Nov 2025 - 11:52AMvideocam

Armed Palestinian Hamas militants follow a digger which has been supplied by Egypt to search for bodies of killed Israeli hostages in Gaza City on November 2. Photo: AFP

Middle East

‘Head in the sand’: Palestinian leader Abbas, 90, struggles for role in Gaza

Abbas has become a ‘liability’ and his weakness has left Palestinians leaderless, critics say, at a time when they face an existential crisis.

15 Nov 2025 - 7:10PM

Israel-Gaza war

Hamas tightens grip on Gaza despite Trump’s ceasefire plan

Hamas reasserts control in Gaza with price controls and fees, raising doubts over Trump’s transition plan and its promise to disarm and step down.

14 Nov 2025 - 8:39PMvideocam

Israel-Gaza war

Aid resumes in Gaza with Rafah crossing set to reopen after hostage body dispute

The dispute over the return of bodies still has the potential to upset the ceasefire deal, along with other yet to be resolved issues.

15 Oct 2025 - 11:45PMvideocam

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid wait on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, before being allowed into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Israel-Gaza war

Trump hails ‘peace in the Middle East’ as leaders sign Gaza declaration

US president signs document with the leaders of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, capping a major diplomatic breakthrough in the Israel-Gaza war.

14 Oct 2025 - 12:32PMvideocam

Israel-Gaza war

Palestinian Authority plans for major role in post-war Gaza despite US blueprint

The Palestinian Authority seeks a pivotal role in post-war Gaza, leveraging Arab support despite Trump’s sidelining and Israeli opposition.

10 Oct 2025 - 1:20AM

Israel-Gaza war

Netanyahu defies UN walkout, vows to ‘finish the job’ in Gaza

The speech was given amid ICC accusations and a genocide case, leading many delegates to walk out just as Israel’s leader was about to speak.

26 Sep 2025 - 10:40PM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Israel-Gaza war

Abbas tells UN: no room for Hamas in post-war Gaza, calls Israeli war ‘genocide’

Mahmoud Abbas spoke to UN General Assembly via video after his US visa was revoked, offered a vision for a Gaza run by Palestinian Authority.

25 Sep 2025 - 11:10PM

President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas speaks via video conference during the General Debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Photo: EPA

Israel-Gaza war

France joins other Western nations in recognising Palestinian state

‘We must do everything within our power to preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution,’ French President Macron told a UN summit.

23 Sep 2025 - 9:10AMvideocam

US-Iran tensions

US bars Iran’s diplomats from shopping at Costco without government permission

The State Department’s directive requires Iranian envoys in New York to obtain approval to buy luxury goods at US wholesale retailers.

23 Sep 2025 - 9:23AM

Israel-Gaza war

UN General Assembly votes for Hamas-free Palestinian state

States supporting Palestinians can now rebuff Israeli accusations that they implicitly condone Hamas, say experts.

13 Sep 2025 - 12:16AMvideocam

Hamas fighters control a crowd while the Red Cross collects Israeli hostages to be released under a ceasefire agreement in Gaza in January. Photo: AP

Middle East

Belgium to recognise Palestinian state, adding to global pressure on Israel

Belgium’s announcement follows a similar shift by a number of countries ahead of the UN General Assembly in September.

2 Sep 2025 - 6:15PM

An Israeli flag waves over debris in an area of the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel. Photo: AP

Israel-Gaza war

Palestinian president’s office urges US to reinstate visa ahead of UN meetings

Mahmoud Abbas was expected to attend a UN conference about creating a Palestinian state next month. His visa was rescinded on Friday.

31 Aug 2025 - 8:47AM

Israel-Gaza war

Macron says France will recognise Palestinian state, angering Israel

The mostly symbolic move draws condemnation from Israel’s Netanyahu and support from the Palestinian Authority.

25 Jul 2025 - 6:15PM

Israel-Gaza war

Gaza rescuers say 80 killed in Israeli strikes

Bombardment intensifies after Israel’s Netanyahu vowed ‘full force’ Gaza offensive.

15 May 2025 - 1:03PM

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters

Israel-Gaza war

Canada confirms it will halt arms shipments to Israel, amid Gaza scrutiny

A senior Canadian official said ‘the situation on the ground makes it so that we can’t’ export any equipment that could have a potential military use.

21 Mar 2024 - 6:05AM

Israel-Gaza war

US Senate leader pushes for Israel elections, calls Netanyahu an obstacle to peace

Democrat Chuck Schumer’s remarks are the most strident criticism yet by a senior American official of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza.

15 Mar 2024 - 4:48PM

Israel-Gaza war

Israel ‘boycotts’ Cairo ceasefire talks; Hamas rejects call for hostage list

Hamas delegation on Sunday arrived in Cairo for the talks, billed as a possible final hurdle before an agreement that would halt fighting for 6 weeks but by early evening there was no sign of the Israelis.

4 Mar 2024 - 1:06AMvideocam

Palestinian women mourn relatives killed in Israeli bombardment at the al-Najjar hospital in Rafah on Friday. Photo: AFP

Middle East

Palestinian Territories’ prime minister Shtayyeh quits

The move is seen as a step towards achieving peace in the Middle East by reforming the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza once the war with Israel is over.

27 Feb 2024 - 3:51AM

Palestinian Territories’ Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures as he convenes a cabinet meeting in Ramallah. Photo: Reuters

Israel-Gaza war

Palestinians want China to mediate in the Israel-Gaza war. What’s stopping it?

Observers say China is in a good position to act as arbitrator in the Israel-Gaza war. So what’s stopping it?

26 Feb 2024 - 2:05PMvideocam

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Israel-Gaza war

Israel’s Netanyahu presents first official ‘day after’ plan for Gaza

According to the document, Israel would maintain security control over all land west of Jordan, including the occupied West Bank and Gaza – territories where the Palestinians want to create an independent state.

23 Feb 2024 - 6:33PM

Israel-Gaza war

Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinians in West Bank

The deaths came with international concern mounting about unrest in the West Bank since Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel sparked the Gaza war.

19 Feb 2024 - 11:20AM

The home of Palestinian Muhammad al-Awfi, who died during an Israeli raid at Tulkarm, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Israel-Gaza war

Israel vows to press ahead with ‘powerful’ Rafah operation

PM Netanyahu insisted he would seek ‘complete victory’, despite mounting calls to hold off on sending troops into the Gaza city packed with refugees.

15 Feb 2024 - 5:39AM

A Palestinian family displaced from Rafah sits outside a shelter in Deir Al Balah in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Israel-Gaza war

Israel will send troops into Rafah, Netanyahu vows, promising ‘safe passage’

Despite international alarm over the potential for carnage in a city crammed with over half of Gaza’s 2.4 million people, the Israeli PM says ‘we’re going to do it’, while Hamas warns such an offensive would threaten talks about the release of hostages.

11 Feb 2024 - 9:55PMvideocam

Israel-Gaza war

Israel’s Netanyahu orders military plan to evacuate Rafah and defeat Hamas

Aid groups have warned of a high death toll if Israeli forces storm the crowded Gaza city, the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

10 Feb 2024 - 6:29AM

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