PA, US work together to reinstate official relations, Israel report says

The Palestinian Authority (PA) and US have exchanged messaged to end President Mahmoud Abbas’ boycott of his American counterpart Donald Trump, Israel Hayom revealed yesterday.

Reporting a senior PA official in Ramallah, the paper said: “The PA is currently rethinking the golden opportunity for the US administration,” noting that a senior PA delegation headed by intelligence chief Majed Faraj may visit the US to meet officials in Washington.

“Secret talks and discussions about this issue had taken place between aides of Trump and Abu Mazen [Abbas]. Each side offered a positive proposal and progress towards renewing relations was made.”

READ: Trump is ‘very fond’ of Palestinian President Abbas, willing to engage on peace plan – Kushner

The Israeli paper asked what prompted the PA to change their minds regarding relations with the US; adding that it may have been Arab country’s support for the Bahrain workshop in which details of the economic plan of the US peace deal for the Middle East was revealed.

A Palestinian official said that the PA saw the Arab participation in the Bahrain Workshop as “treason against the Palestinian cause” because it was an effort to liquidate it and force Palestinians to submit to a solution which doesn’t give them their rights under international law.

Trump’s peace conference in Bahrain where the US will reveal the deal of the century – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]