France says it obtains Palestinian reform pledge ahead of conference

PARIS (Reuters) -France said on Tuesday it had obtained new commitments from the Palestinian Authority to reform, ahead of a conference next week at which Paris could become the most prominent Western power to back recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

President Emmanuel Macron has received a letter from Mahmoud Abbas in which the Palestinian president condemns the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack against Israel, calls on all hostages to be released and pledges further reforms, the Elysee said.

Abbas, 89, has headed the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004.

The PA exercises limited self rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank but lost control of Gaza to its rivals Hamas since 2007. It has previously condemned Hamas for the attack that provoked the Gaza war and has called for the militant group to be disarmed in a future settlement.

The letter to Macron, who is working on organising an international conference with Saudi Arabia to discuss recognition of Palestine, contains "unprecedented" pledges, Macron's office said, without elaborating.

"Hamas will no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian Security Forces, which will oversee their removal outside the Occupied Palestinian territory, with Arab and international support," the French leader's office quoted Abbas as having written in the letter.

Israel has said it will not accept any role for the PA in Gaza after the war and has denounced countries that consider recognising Palestinian independence, which it says would reward Hamas for its attacks.

French officials have said Macron is leaning towards recognising a Palestinian state ahead of the U.N. conference which France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting from June 17-20.

(Reporting by Michel Rose)