Hamas blasts Palestinian Central Council meeting in Ramallah

Hamas on Thursday blasted the three-day meeting of the Palestinian Central Council in Ramallah, which it said "deepens division, perpetuates isolationism, and disappoints our people's hopes for unity."

The meeting was set to include the selection of a deputy for the ailing and deeply unpopular leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, but devolved into infighting.

Both the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian National Initiative boycotted the event. 

"The outcomes... were a national disappointment and ignored the hopes and aspirations of our people at home and in the diaspora," Hamas said. 

"The meeting comes after 18 months of massacres and starvation, without its results or decisions bearing the slightest response to confronting the aggression and working to stop the genocide in Gaza."

No move was made toward national consensus based on the Beijing Agreement, Hamas said, referring to the 2024 unity agreement signed by 14 Palestinian factions. 

The group also condemned Abbas for calling Hamas "sons of bitches" at the meeting, and demanding they release all Israeli captives with no preconditions.

"We reject the continuation of this unilateral path and affirm the need to rebuild the Palestine Liberation Organization on national and democratic foundations, activate the unified leadership framework, and hold comprehensive elections at home and abroad," Hamas said.