Talks between the Palestinian President and the Israeli Defense Minister

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, in the West Bank, in the first formally announced meeting at this level in years.

A source close to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the day after the Palestinian-Israeli meeting, which was the first since Naftali Bennett became prime minister, and the first meeting at this level to be officially announced in years: "There is no ongoing peace process with the Palestinians, and it will not happen."

The source added that the talks in Ramallah, the seat of President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank occupied by Israel in 1967, were devoted to discussing routine security issues and the economy.

Relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have deteriorated considerably in recent years.

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ruled from 2009 to 2021, made little effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, allowing the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who leads a centrist party participating in the Israeli coalition government, directed Abbas by saying, "Israel is seeking to take measures that would strengthen the economy of the Palestinian Authority," and they also touched on "means of developing security and the economic situation in Palestine." West Bank and Gaza” and agreed to “continue communication,” according to the source.

The meeting included the coordinator of the Israeli government's operations in the Palestinian territories, Ghassan Alyan, the senior official in the Palestinian Authority, Hussein Al-Sheikh, and the head of Palestinian intelligence, Majed Faraj.

Al-Sheikh confirmed in a tweet on Twitter that the meeting took place, explaining that “there was a discussion of the Palestinian-Israeli relations in all their aspects,” without giving any additional details.

The talks came hours after Bennett returned from Washington, where he met US President Joe Biden at the White House.

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