Mahmoud Abbas asks Israel for approval to visit Gaza Strip
The Palestinian Authority has informed Israel of President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to visit the Gaza Strip with members of the Palestinian leadership, a Palestinian source said on Monday.
The source, who preferred anonymity, told that Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, had sent a message to Israel and international parties regarding Abbas’s decision.
President Mahmoud Abbas of the State of Palestine will visit the Gaza Strip with several Palestinian leadership members. The visit aims to assert Palestinian sovereignty over Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, observe the dire conditions, and call for an immediate end to the war and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the message wrote.
The source added that the Palestinian side has also informed the U.S. administration of Abbas’s visit and his accompanying delegation, requesting its support and participation if possible.
The Palestinian Authority will reach out to the UN Secretary-General, the European Union, and members of the UN Security Council to inform them of this step, said the source.
The source did not specify the exact time of the visit, noting that consultations with various parties regarding its implementation, including entry into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing, are still ongoing.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) sent a letter to Israel yesterday requesting that its President Mahmoud Abbas visit the Gaza Strip, Israeli media outlet Walla reported on Monday. Abbas has insisted on visiting the enclave for the first time since it came under Hamas control in 2007.
The report claimed Abbas asked to enter Gaza from Israeli territory, rather than from the Rafah crossing, on Gaza’s border with Egypt. The request has allegedly also been sent to the United States, with the PA hoping Washington could influence Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to grant it.
Following the Palestinian Authority leadership’s initiation of plans for President Mahmoud Abbas’ upcoming visit to the Gaza Strip, his advisor, Mahmoud al-Habbash, highlighted in an interview with Ynet that Abbas is determined to reconnect with his people in Gaza. Al-Habbash emphasized that this visit is crucial for reinstating the Palestinian Authority’s presence in the region and stressed the national right to be present across all Palestinian territories.
In a recent speech to the Turkish parliament, Abbas expressed his intent to visit Gaza at all costs, not for popularity, but to be with my people, and invited world leaders to join him and ensure his safe arrival.
