Cairo had agreed recently to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to enter the Gaza Strip via the Egyptian Rafah crossing on condition that Israel approves the visit, but received no such approval, according to a report.

Israel’s public broadcaster Kan quoted Tuesday an unnamed Arab diplomat who said that the Palestinian Authority requested Egypt officially to enable such a visit. Cairo agreed in principle but conditioned the visit on Israeli approval. The Israeli authorities declined the request. The diplomat assessed the Egyptian approval to stress the necessity of including the PA in any arrangement for the day after the war in the management of Gaza. 

Al-Monitor has yet to receive a response for comment on the matter from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

On Aug. 15, Abbas told a special session of the Turkish parliament that he intended to travel to Gaza. "I have decided to go to Gaza with other brothers from the Palestinian leadership," Abbas said. "I will do that even if this would cost my life. Gaza is ours as a whole. We don't accept any solution that would divide our territories. There cannot be a Palestinian state without Gaza. Our people will not surrender."