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CIA chief meets with PA head Abbas

CIA director Pompeo reportedly met with Abbas in Ramallah. 

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Mike Pompeo visited Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Wednesday, just hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump in Washington.

The Palestinian News Network quoted “high level diplomatic sources” who said that the meeting had “a positive impact,” during which they discussed important political issues, including the issue of the relations between the US and the PA.

Sources say that the meeting between Pompeo and Abbas – the first high-level encounter to take place between a Trump administration official and Abbas – was also attended by Maj. Gen. Majed Faraj, head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, and Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee who served as chief negotiator with Israel.

Faraj reportedly met with US security and intelligence officials in Washington last week. Different issues were reportedly discussed during the meetings in preparation for “serious dialogue between both sides,” although the details discussed remained unclear.

The Palestinian leadership had tried unsuccessfully to reach out to Trump and feared the possibility of being sidelined, as the new administration appears to be embracing Netanyahu.

A strong relationship with the US has been key to the Palestinian strategy for statehood. The US has served as sole broker in two decades of intermittent talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

By: World Israel News Staff