Report: Abbas to visit Gaza for 1st time in 4 years

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is planning to visit the Gaza Strip for the first time since the Hamas takeover four years ago, Palestinian news agency Maan reported.

The agency quoted a Palestinian source as saying that Abbas "is determined to visit Gaza in order to put an end to the Palestinian split and connect the two parts of the homeland." The Palestinian president's office denied the report, and a Hamad source referred to it as "a groundless media balloon". (Ali Waked)