Indirect communication takes place between Abbas and Netanyahu

Media sources in Israel have claimed that messages have been exchanged between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority regarding the possibility of returning to direct negotiations. Officials in the office of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and their counterparts in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have reopened communication channels to discuss ways to resume such talks.

According to a Palestinian official in Ramallah, there are genuine efforts being made, with US mediation, towards holding a meeting between Netanyahu and Abbas next week in Netanyahu’s residence in Occupied Jerusalem. Officials also told the media that these developments come amid concerns about the events taking place in Egypt, made more important in this context because Egypt’s President Mubarak remains a conduit for communication and moving forward with negotiations.