Palestinian President, Israeli Defence Minister hold first high-level meeting in 10 years

In the first high-level meeting between the two sides in 10 years, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz met Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on August 29. According to AP, Gantz and Abbas met in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The defence ministry said that during their meeting, Gantz’s told Abbas that Israel will take new measures to strengthen the Palestinian economy. It said that the two sides also discussed security issues and agreed to remain in touch. 

“Defence Minister Benny Gantz met with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmud Abbas [Sunday] evening to discuss security policy, civilian and economic issues,” Israel’s defence ministry said in a statement.

A Palestinian official, on the other hand, said that Gantz and Abbas discussed possible steps toward improving the atmosphere. He said this included Palestinian demands for a halt in Israeli military operations in Palestinian areas of the occupied West Bank, allowing the unification of families with relatives inside Israel and allowing more Palestinian workers into Israel. 

The meeting included the head of the Israeli military branch responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, Ghasan Alyan, senior PA official Hussein al-Sheikh and Palestinian intelligence chief Majid Faraj. While taking to Twitter, al-Sheikh confirmed the meeting. He said that Gantz and Abbas discussed the Israel-Palestine relations in all aspects. 

Israeli PM supports building up Palestinian economy

Meanwhile, relations between Israel and the PA, which is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, have deteriorated substantially in recent years. It is worth mentioning that Israel’s new PM Naftali Bennett is a hard-liner who opposes Palestinian independence. However, he has said that he supports building up the Palestinian economy and expanding autonomy for Palestinians. Bennett has also said that he is interested in bolstering Abbas in his rivalry with the ruling Hamas militant group in Gaza. 

In a good sign, Israeli PM Neftalli Benett has also announced that his administration would allow the passage of goods in and out of the Gaza Strip. Later, Israel’s Defense Ministry added that it will allow imports of new vehicles, goods and equipment for civilian projects in the Gaza Strip, and issue more permits for Gazan businessmen to enter Israel starting Thursday. 

(With inputs from AP)