Abbas Rehashes Willingness to Meet Netanyahu

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas has rehashed his willingness to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu according to Lebanese news source, one month after he took up the Prime Minister’s challenge to speak in the Knesset – but without a condition that he declare that Israel is a Jewish state.

Al-Mayadeen, a Lebanese channel close to Hezbollah and which quoted Palestinian Authority sources, reported that Abbas is willing to stage a meeting “to bridge the gap in the controversial issues between the two sides.”

Given Netanyahu’s refusal to sign on the dotted line on all of Abbas’s demands, and given Abbas’ refusal to allow the IDF to remain in the Jordan Valley in a future Palestinian Authority state and not to recognize Israel as Jewish state, it is not clear what Netanyahu and Abbas would talk about.