Israel, PA pledge commitment to peace after Ramallah parley
Netanyahu’s envoy delivers letter to Abbas; J Street’s Ben Ami also meets PA president, tells ‘Post’ that Abbas spoke of need for upfront commitment from Israel that final status agreement would be based on 1967 lines. Photo: Jason Reed / Reuters
Israel and the Palestinian Authority pledged their commitment to peace, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s envoy Yitzhak Molcho travelled to Ramallah Saturday night to deliver a letter on his behalf to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office after the meeting said, “Israel and the Palestinian Authority are committed to achieving peace and the sides hope that the exchange of letters between President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu will further this goal.”
The letter from Netanyahu comes in response to one which Abbas sent him last month in which he stated that talks would only be renewed when Israel froze construction in east Jerusalem and the settlements.
This written exchange is the latest attempt to revive the frozen peace process. The two men have not met face to face since September.