Israel-Gaza live updates: Explosions across Gaza as expected ceasefire nears
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the Gaza ceasefire in a Thursday statement, saying that ultimate sovereignty over the devastated coastal territory “belongs to the state of Palestine.”
This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority’s press office shows Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his headquarters in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Sept. 22, 2025.
Thaer Ghanaim/PPO/AFP via Getty Images
“President Abbas expressed hope that these efforts would be a prelude to reaching a permanent political solution, as announced by President Trump, leading to an end to the Israeli occupation of the state of Palestine and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967, borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the statement said.
Abbas also expressed Palestinian “readiness to work with relevant mediators and international partners to ensure” the success of the ceasefire proposal, and urged “all parties to commit to the immediate implementation of the agreement.”
The statement said that Abbas “reiterated that sovereignty over the Gaza Strip belongs to the state of Palestine, and that the connection between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip must be achieved through Palestinian laws and government institutions, through a unified Palestinian administrative committee and Palestinian security forces, within the framework of a single system and law, and with Arab and international support.”