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Abbas: Killing of Hamas Leader Intended to Prolong Gaza War

FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after talks with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after talks with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
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Abbas: Killing of Hamas Leader Intended to Prolong Gaza War

FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after talks with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after talks with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa

The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was intended to prolong the Gaza conflict, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told RIA agency in remarks published on Tuesday, adding he will discuss the crisis with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
RIA, citing a diplomatic source, said that Abbas will come on the long-expected visit to Moscow on Aug. 12-14 for talks with Putin.
Haniyeh, the political leader of Palestinian group Hamas, was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran last week, in an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fueled concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.
Abbas said that he considers Haniyeh's assassination, "a cowardly act and a dangerous development in Israeli politics".
"There is no doubt that the purpose of Mr. Haniyeh's assassination is to prolong the war and expand its scope," Abbas told Russia's state RIA news agency in an interview.
"It will have a negative impact on the ongoing negotiations to end the aggression and withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza," Abbas said in remarks published in Russian by the RIA agency and translated by Reuters.
Haniyeh had been the face of Hamas' international diplomacy since the war started and on Oct. 7, 2023, and had been taking part in internationally brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.
Iran, which backs Hamas in its war with Israel in Gaza, has blamed Israel for the killing and said it will "punish" it. Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility.
Russia has condemned Haniyeh's killing and called on all parties to refrain from further destabilization of the region.
Abbas told RIA in the interview that he plans to discuss the peace process in the region with Putin.
"We constantly exchange opinions with the President of Russia, consult on all the most important issues in order to advance the peace process, as well as strengthen bilateral and regional relations," RIA cited Abbas as saying. "We will do this during our upcoming visit to Russia."
Abbas is also expected to visit Türkiye, with Ankara saying last week they expect the Palestinian leader for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan on Aug. 14-15.
Russia has repeatedly scolded the West for ignoring the need for an independent Palestinian state within 1967 borders.
On Monday, a senior ally of Putin, Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's security council held talks in Tehran with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian in which the Iranian leader said that he is determined to expand relations with its "strategic partner Russia."
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have repeatedly tried to clinch a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but have encountered obstacles from both sides as to how long fighting should stop for and the release of Israel hostages.
Israeli forces have killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to local medical officials, since the Hamas-led group attacked Israel in October, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.

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Arab World

US Passes Message to Iran Not to Escalate at ‘Critical Moment’ for Middle East

Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. (EPA)
Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. (EPA)
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US Passes Message to Iran Not to Escalate at ‘Critical Moment’ for Middle East

Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. (EPA)
Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. (EPA)

The United States has been urging other countries through diplomatic channels to tell Iran that escalation in the Middle East is not in their interest, a State Department spokesperson said on Monday, at what Secretary of State Antony Blinken called a "critical moment" for the region.

Blinken said Washington was "engaged in intense diplomacy, pretty much around the clock" to help calm tensions amid fears Iran is preparing a retaliatory strike against Israel.

"All parties must refrain from escalation," Blinken said during a signing ceremony with his Australian counterpart in Washington.

"All parties must take steps to ease tensions. Escalation is not in anyone's interests. It will only lead to more conflict, more violence, more insecurity."

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran last week, an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fueled further concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.

Iran has blamed Israel and said it will "punish" it; Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility for the killing. Iran backs Hamas, which is at war with Israel in Gaza, and also the Lebanese group Hezbollah, whose senior military commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut last week.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed by their national security team on the situation in the Middle East, including threats posed by Iran and its proxies to Israel and US servicemembers, the White House said. They were also briefed about an attack on Iraq's al Asad airbase on Monday and discussed the US response.

During that briefing, Biden and Harris were told by their national security team that it is still unclear when Iran and Hezbollah are likely to launch an attack against Israel "and the specifics of such an attack," according to a US official.

At least five US personnel were wounded in the rocket strike, US officials told Reuters. It was unclear whether the attack was linked to threats by Iran to retaliate over Haniyeh's killing, in which the US said it had no involvement.

Biden and Harris were also updated on US efforts to support Israel militarily if it is attacked and diplomatic efforts to "de-escalate regional tension" and reach a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in Gaza.

Blinken earlier on Monday spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

"One of the points of the engagements that we have had is to urge countries to pass messages to Iran and urge countries to make clear to Iran that it is very much not in their interests to escalate this conflict, that it is very much not in their interest to launch another attack on Israel," said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Miller, speaking at a press briefing, did not say definitively whether or not Washington's messages have been disseminated to Iran or through which channel.

"I would expect that some of them would pass that message along and impress that point upon the government of Iran," he added.

Blinken in his remarks also called for parties to "break this cycle" of violence and agree a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, despite the killing of Haniyeh, who was a key figure in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

"What it comes down to really is all parties finding ways to come to an agreement, not look for reasons to delay or to say no," Blinken said. "It is urgent that all parties make the right choices in the hours and days ahead."