Netanyahu Calls Abbas, Hopes To Renew Negotiations
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday telephoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and said he hoped the two sides could resume peace talks, stalled for three years, Israeli officials said.
Netanyahu offered greetings for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, his office said, adding that he told Abbas: “I hope we will have the opportunity to speak with one another not only during festivals, and will start negotiating. It’s important.”
Direct talks broke down in 2010 over Israel’s settlement of the occupied West Bank, which Palestinians want as part of their future state. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has in recent months mounted shuttle visits in the hope of reviving negotiations.
“I hope Secretary of State Kerry’s efforts will show results,” Netanyahu said, according to the Israeli statement.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO