Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, which is now in its 11th month, is aimed at “exterminating and displacing” Palestinians from their land, said Hussein Al-Sheikh, the secretary-general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Saturday.

In a statement on X following a meeting with the Turkish Consul General to Palestine Ismail Cobanoglu in Ramallah, Sheikh emphasised the “need to stop the criminal war in the Gaza Strip that aims to exterminate and displace the Palestinian people, and the need to protect the West Bank from Israeli (settlement) measures.”

According to Anadolu Agency, Sheikh expressed his gratitude to Turkiye, “its leadership and people, for the support it provides to the Palestinian people and its supportive positions towards the (Palestinian) leadership.”

Sheikh also mentioned President Mahmoud Abbas’ recent speech to the Turkish parliament on August 15, in which he announced his decision “to go, along with the entire Palestinian leadership, to the Gaza Strip.”

The PLO secretary-general announced the formation of a committee to prepare for Abbas’s visit to Gaza, noting that “communication has been made with the international community to support this step.”

Cobanoglu, according to Sheikh, said: “All political factions within Parliament applauded him and found the initiative to visit Gaza and Jerusalem an important and bold step.”

According to the statement, the Turkish consul general emphasised the “need for Palestinian factions to unite for the sake of the national interest.”

In his speech before the Turkish parliament, Abbas declared: “I will go to Gaza. Our lives are not more valuable than the lives of the children in Gaza.”

Abbas invited the leaders of Arab, Islamic, and friendly countries, as well as the UN secretary-general, to join him on his planned visit to “stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza.”