UN says unlikely it can provide security for Mahmoud Abbas' visit to Gaza

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – Given the situation in the Gaza Strip, it is unlikely the UN could provide security for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to visit the besieged enclave, said a UN spokesman on Friday.

Asked by Anadolu about Abbas’ dramatic announcement in an address to the Turkish parliament that he plans to visit the Gaza Strip – a part of Palestine which has been under heavy bombardment by Israel since last Oct. 7 – Michele Zaccheo voiced skepticism.

“The idea that the UN could provide security is probably not so realistic at this stage,” said Zaccheo, mentioning how they get reports each day from humanitarian colleagues about the volatile security situation in Gaza.

Pointing to Israel’s responsibility, he said: “I think that Security Council members and the UN family are all very aware of the problem with security in Gaza and that the principal responsibility for providing security in the occupied territories lies with the occupying powers.”

But he also said providing security, if it were possible, would probably not require a UN Security Council resolution.

During an extraordinary session on Thursday of the Turkish parliament on Palestine, Abbas said: “I announce before you and the world that I have decided to go to the Gaza Strip with all Palestinian leaders.”

He urged the UN Security Council to ensure their access to the besieged enclave.

The ongoing Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.

Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.