Mahmoud Abbas needs to step down, says Nasser al Qudwa, Yasser Arafat’s nephew

Nasser al Qudwa, a former foreign minister and a nephew of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, said in an interview with FRANCE 24 that it “definitely doesn’t look as if Israel is aiming at Hamas” but is actually waging a “real war of savagery” on Palestinians civilians.

Qudwa also doesn't think Israel "will be able to eliminate Hamas” and urged both sides to end the war “properly”, stressing that it was up to Palestinians to handle the aftermath of the conflict as a united people.

Read more 'Eliminating Hamas is not going to happen,' Palestinian PM tells FRANCE 24

While a temporary Arab or international presence could be needed for a transitional period, the Palestinians should be in the driving seat, he said. “Ideas such as having some foreigners coming to do the trick aren’t going to work.”

Qudwa said that while the war would likely weaken Hamas, future inter-Palestinian talks would need to involve the group. “We, as Palestinians, need to be ready (…) to continue debating with them," he said.

Asked whether Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas should step down, Qudwa notes that the  “overwhelming majority of the Palestinian people” want him to leave. Abbas was elected only once in his 18 years at the helm and has since become wildly unpopular, he said, with polls showing that “85% of the Palestinians want Mister Abbas to resign (…) the guy has been there for 18 years with [a] one-time election. That has to end."

He went on to say that it is "the right [of the] Palestinian people to see new faces”. But if the current leadership refuses to step down willingly, things could get “ugly”, he predicted.

Qudwa said that, after the war in Gaza, a new Palestinian governance should be put in place. Figures such as