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Abbas restates readiness to meet with Netanyahu under Trump’s auspices

The Palestinian Authority Chairman reiterated a statement he made weeks earlier on preparations to meet with Netanyahu directly under Trump’s auspices. 

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his readiness to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under the tutelage of US President Donald Trump, during a joint press conference on Tuesday with German President Frank Walter Steinmeier.

“We affirmed to (Trump) that we are ready to cooperate with him and meet the Israeli prime minister under his auspices in order to make peace,” Abbas said, without mentioning any preconditions.

Abbas made similar remarks weeks ago in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun Japanese media outlet.

“I am ready to meet the prime minister of Israel any time in Washington under the patronage of President Trump,” Abbas said at the time. “I will send our delegation to the U.S. to prepare for my visit there.”

Steinmeier said a two-state solution between Israel and the PA was “truly urgent,” and that from Germany’s perspective, “there is no other solution.”

During his visit to Washington DC last week, Abbas revealed documents detailing a two-state offer made by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2008 to Trump, according to a report in Haaretz citing a PA spokesman.

“At that time they discussed territorial swaps of 1.9 percent, whereas Olmert suggested 6.3%,” the spokesperson said, adding that negotiations ended at that point in light of Olmert’s legal troubles.

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“We told President Trump and his team that the gaps were not so wide and that it would be a good starting point for negotiations about borders — the critical issue with implications for all the core issues of a future agreement,” the spokesperson continued.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News