WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (EJP)—Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 3 in Washington.
Trump has invited Abbas to the White House when they had a phone conversation for the first time in March.
“They will use the visit to reaffirm the commitment of both the United States and Palestinian leadership to pursuing and ultimately concluding a conflict-ending settlement between the Palestinians and Israel,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.
The PA President met last month in Ramallah with U.S. special Mideast peace envoy Jason Greenblatt.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Trump during his visit in Washington in February and said he was committed to working with Trump to advance peace efforts with the Palestinians and with the broader Arab world.
Abbas expressed this week willingness to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington under the auspices of the US President.
In an interview published by the Japanese news site Asahi Shimbun, Abbas said, “I am ready to meet the Prime Minister of Israel anytime in Washington under the patronage of President Trump.”
But he hinted that he would demand a settlement freeze as a precondition to peace talks.
“The question before talking about any peace process, is to create the right environment for peace to come. This will be impossible as far as Israel’s colonial-settlement enterprises continues,” Abbas said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has several times publicly called for Abbas to return to talks with Israel, without preconditions. Abbas has so far rejected the call