Mahmoud Abbas believes Palestinian unity is key Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has asked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to postpone his visit to the Gaza Strip until Palestinian reconciliation has been achieved. Abbas made the disclosure of his request to journalists in Cairo on Thursday evening.
"I told him [Erdogan] if you want  to visit Gaza,  you must wait until after reconciliation."
Abbas denied reports that he was planning to visit Gaza with Erdogan and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in the near future. "We have not discussed anything about the three leaders visiting Gaza together," he explained.
Abbas criticised Egyptian Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi for his recent visit to Gaza, explaining that he wasn't made aware of the trip beforehand. "I didn't know anything about it, and I am completely against any visit to Gaza right now, because it could hinder reconciliation efforts."
The Palestinian leader claimed that al-Qaradawi's felt he was visiting a territory free from occupation, adding "Gaza is not free, and whoever wants to visit Gaza must obtain permission from Egypt and Israel. Al-Qaradawi gained permission of Israel to visit the Gaza Strip, but he refused to visit Jerusalem. This is a hypocrisy."
Abbas said that Qatari plans to hold a mini-Arab summit about Palestinian reconciliation had hit the buffers. "There hasn't been any notable progress," he explained, adding that "at the time it seems like a good idea, but I haven't heard anything about the summit."