UNITED NATIONS, August 22. /TASS/. Palestinian Permanent Observer at the UN Riyad Mansour called on Security Council members to join Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and visit the Gaza Strip in order to assess the scale of the tragedy in the enclave in person.

"President Abbas stated his intention and the intention of the Palestinian leadership to travel to Gaza. He called on the leaders from across the world to joint him and support his initiative. Let me call on the Security Council to take part in the visit to the Gaza Strip to see the horror that our people live through with your own eyes," he said during the Security Council meeting on the Middle Eastern settlement.

In addition, the Palestinian diplomat called on the Security Council to "ensure President Abbas’ ability to reach the Gaza Strip" and to "work to end the genocide and crimes," committed against the people of Palestine.

Earlier this week, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said that the visit of Security Council members to the Gaza Strip remains on agenda, but it is currently impossible to organize such trip for a number of reasons. In particular, the diplomat noted that the Security Council does not have a single position regarding the visit; there are also difficulties in organization and guarantees of security of such a trip.