Abbas says no to meeting with Netanyahu until talks progress

A member of Fatah’s Central Committee has denied rumours that Mahmoud Abbas has caved in to US pressure and agreed to a meeting with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu. Jamal Muheisen told Alresala.net on Sunday that there are no three-party summit meetings with the United States planned in the immediate future.

He went on to explain that a meeting between the Palestinian Authority president and Israeli prime minister will not happen before progress is made in the peace negotiations between the two parties. Muheisen demanded the US administration to put pressure on the Israelis for the success of the negotiations, which have not achieved anything positive on the ground five months after they restarted.

US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Abbas last Thursday and with Netanyahu on Friday. During his meetings, Kerry discussed a security initiative to resolve the situation in the Jordan Valley on the border with the Hashemite Kingdom. He was unsuccessful in trying to reach a compromise agreement.

Through his new approach of working towards direct meetings between the Palestinians and the Israelis Kerry aims to rescue the talks, which have ground to a halt in recent weeks. The negotiations have almost collapsed completely on more than one occasion.