Abbas meets secretly with Livni in London

Israeli minister of justice and chief negotiator Tzipi Livni met on Thursday the Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in London, Israeli Channel 2 has revealed.

The secret meeting between the Israeli official and the head of the PA comes at a time when Palestinian refugees around the world commemorate the 66th anniversary of the Nakba (Catastrophe). It is the first such meeting since the failure of peace talks was announced last month.

Livni expressed to Abbas Israel’s anger over his decision to head a Palestinian unity government with Hamas. She told him that under these circumstances it is impossible to continue with negotiations.

According to channel two, American officials confirmed the meeting between the two and said that it was not planned in advance.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was angry with Livni because of the meeting, despite the fact that he knew about it before it took place.

Abbas and Livni were in London for separate purposes. Abbas met the US Secretary of State John Kerry to persuade the US administration to accept the unity government. He also briefed the British foreign minister William Hague about the peace process.

The PA President told Kerry that the unity government would recognise Israel and reject violence. Fatah and Hamas officials have repeatedly reiterated that the unity government do not have political agenda.