CAIRO (Sputnik) – Palestine is calling on the international community to put pressure on Israel so that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas can visit the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Varsen Aghabekian Shahin told Sputnik.
Last week, the Walla news portal reported that the Palestinian National Authority had asked the Israeli authorities for permission for Abbas to visit Gaza in the near future. Later, Abbas’ adviser on international relations and his special envoy, Riyad al-Maliki, told Sputnik that Israel had denied the Palestinian leader permission to visit the enclave.
«We will act to ensure President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian commission has been formed to work and organize this visit to the Gaza Strip. We ask the international community to put pressure on Israel to ensure President Abbas’ visit,» Aghabekian Shahin said.
She also added that the Palestinian Authority informed all its ambassadors and representatives of the need for action in all countries and at all levels to mobilize international support for this initiative.
