By Romana Rubeo 
According to reports, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has requested Israel’s permission to enter Gaza.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said on Sunday that the Palestinian government had initiated “efforts and contacts on a global level in preparation for the travel of President Mahmoud Abbas and members of the Palestinian leadership to the Gaza Strip.”
Citing two informed sources, the Israeli newspaper Walla reported that “Palestinian Minister Hussein al-Sheikh yesterday (Monday – PC) sent a letter to the head of the (Israeli) National Assembly Tzachi Hanegbi and asked to coordinate a visit of the PA chairman to the Gaza Strip”.
In a speech to Turkiye’s parliament on August 15, the PA president stated that he is prepared to travel to Gaza, even if it means risking his life. This would mark his first visit to the Strip since 2007.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, while on a state visit trip to Turkey, says: I announce I will visit the Gaza Strip with other senior Palestinian officials.
"There is no other solution in front of us". https://t.co/Vn2D5zcA2p
— Ismaeel Naar (@ismaeelrn) August 15, 2024
According to WAFA, Abbas wants “to travel to the Gaza Strip which is subjected to a genocidal war by the Israeli occupation, in order to restore national unity.”
Additionally, the PA president wants to “emphasize that the State of Palestine and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) are the mandate holders responsible for the entire State of Palestine,” WAFA added.
Working with Israeli Military
Since the onset of the war in Gaza, talks about post-war governance of the Strip have surfaced.
Last March, Israeli media reported that the Palestinian Authority was working on building an armed force in the southern Gaza Strip, consisting of families who do not support Hamas.
Citing Israeli sources, Al-Jazeera reported on March 13 that Majid Faraj, the head of the PA’s intelligence apparatus, has begun work on building an armed force in the southern Gaza Strip, consisting of families who do not support the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas.
Palestinian Authority is Working with Israeli Military in Gaza – Media Reports
According to Israeli Channel 14, the unit will allegedly be tasked with managing aid deliveries from the south to the north of Gaza.
Moreover, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (KAN) reported that Hanegbi had met with Faraj, with the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Kan added that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant proposed Faraj as a potential candidate to build an alternative to Hamas and temporarily manage the Gaza Strip after the war.
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,173 Palestinians have been killed, and 92,857 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The Palestine Chronicle. Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and academic journals. She holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and Literature and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation.
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