France, June 11 -- Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has said that Hamas "must hand over its weapons" and called for the deployment of international forces to protect the Palestinian people, France has announced. The move comes ahead of a conference next week at which Paris could become the most prominent Western power to back recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

In a letter addressed on Monday to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mahmoud Abbasoutlined the main steps that he thinks must be taken to end the war in Gaza and achieve peace in the Middle East.

He condemned the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack against Israel, called on all hostages to be released and pledged further reforms, ...