Lapid and Abbas talk by phone in what is the first contact between Israelis and Palestinians in five years

July 8. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Prime Minister of Israel, Yair Lapid, has had a telephone conversation this Friday with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in which it is the first contact between leaders of both territories in five years.

Both leaders have addressed the importance of giving continuity to “cooperation” between Israeli and Palestinian authorities to “guarantee tranquility and calm”, as reported by Lapid’s Office and reported by the newspaper ‘Times of Israel’.

The conversation took place within the framework of the round of contacts that Prime Minister Lapid has carried out to congratulate the Muslim leaders for the Eid al-Adha festival, also known as the Celebration of the Sacrifice, which begins on Saturday.

In these conversations with leaders of the Middle East, Lapid took the opportunity to address the future visit of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to the area, scheduled for next week and which will take him not only to Israel, but also to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.

Abbas also met late Thursday in the West Bank city of Ramallah with Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Gantz to coordinate security issues ahead of President Biden’s visit to the region.

The secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hussein al-Sheikh, has indicated on his Twitter account that Abbas “highlighted the importance of preparing an atmosphere of calm before Biden’s visit, which is welcome.”