The Palestinian Authority president told Turkish lawmakers that he would support the Palestinian people even at the cost of his lives.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has vowed to visit the besieged Gaza Strip, saying he would support the Palestinian people even if it cost him his lives.
Speaking before Turkey’s Grand National Assembly on Thursday, as the Palestinian death toll in Israel’s war in Gaza passed 40,000, Abbas denounced the “silence of the international community” in the face of Israel’s atrocities.
“I decided to go to the Gaza Strip with all the brothers of the Palestinian leadership,” Abbas said.
“I will work with all my strength so that we all stand with our people to end this barbaric aggression, even if it costs us our lives. Our life is no more valuable than that of the smallest child in Gaza.”
It is unclear when or how Abbas will travel to Gaza.
The Palestinian territory is under a suffocating Israeli blockade. The Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, the gateway between Egypt and Gaza, has been under Israeli control for months.
“It’s either victory or martyrdom,” Abbas, 88, told Turkish lawmakers.
Abbas and his advisers have criticized Fatah’s rival Hamas, but efforts are underway to bring the two sides closer together and achieve Palestinian unity.
Last month, representatives from Fatah and Hamas met in Beijing for reconciliation talks.
Abbas also called for unity and patience following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July, calling the killing a “cowardly act.”
Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2005, while the Palestinian Authority administers limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“Gaza is an integral part of the unified Palestinian state. There will be no state in Gaza alone. The Palestinian people will not be broken and will never surrender,” Abbas said on Thursday.
“We will rebuild Gaza and heal the wounds of our people with the support of Arab and Islamic nations and our global allies, within the framework of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
The Palestinian president thanked his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for what he called courageous and principled support for the Palestinian people.
He also called for accountability for Israel’s abuses in Gaza, where the Israeli military has displaced nearly the entire population and turned large swathes of the territory into rubble.
“Murderers and war criminals will not escape punishment, and we will continue our struggle and fight for justice in Palestine,” he said.