Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday slammed the Hamas terror organization for providing Israel with an “excuse” to destroy Gaza by holding on to the hostages. Speaking at a meeting of the PLO Central Council, Abbas called Hamas “sons of female dogs.” “The war must end,” he said. “There are hundreds killed every day. Why? They don’t want to release the American hostages. Sons of dogs, give the hostages back and end this story. Eliminate its [Israel’s] excuses.” It was unclear whether Abbas was referring to all the hostages or just the American hostages, of whom only one, Eden Alexander, is believed to be still alive. Abbas  started out by saying that “the coup carried out by Hamas in 2007 gave Israel an excuse to destroy the Gaza Strip.” He then claimed: “Israel wants to eliminate the Palestinian issue in its actions in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. Displacing Palestinians from Gaza would be a new Nakba,” he said. “Hamas must remove itself from ruling over Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority,” Abbas said, adding that Hamas must hold talks with the PA rather than the US and others. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)