The Palestinian news agency "Wafa" reported that the Palestinian leadership has begun its moves and communications worldwide to prepare for President Mahmoud Abbas and members of the Palestinian leadership to head to the Gaza Strip. The source mentioned that Abbas and the Palestinian leadership's visit aims to be "with our people who are subjected to a war of genocide there, and to reaffirm that the State of Palestine and the Palestine Liberation Organization have jurisdiction and responsibility over all of the State of Palestine's territory, and to work on restoring national unity."
It was added: "In this regard, we have communicated with the United Nations, permanent member states of the Security Council, our brothers in Arab and Islamic countries, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the European Union, the African Union, and other significant countries and forces in the world, to ensure the success of this step and to provide support and participation whenever possible. Israel has also been informed of this."
In contrast, the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" quoted an Israeli official as saying, "We will not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to go to the Gaza Strip." Israeli media reports revealed that Abbas's visit to Gaza "is unlikely to happen in the near future." Abbas had announced in a speech before the Turkish parliament that he would head to the Gaza Strip with all members of the Palestinian leadership, calling on the international community to ensure their access there. He indicated that "the decision to head to Gaza is to thwart Israel's plans."
