Barak, Abbas Hold Secret Meeting
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak reportedly met secretly with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the eve of peace talks.
Barak held a secret meeting with Abbas Sunday night in Amman, Israeli media reported, hours after meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah at his palace. Barak reportedly returned to Israel to brief Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in between the meetings.
Barak and Abbas reportedly discussed an Israeli easing of security measures in the West Bank and Barak reiterated Israel’s commitment to the success of the talks opening in Washington Wednesday.
Netanyahu left Israel Tuesday morning for Washington. He is scheduled to meet with President Obama Wednesday before attending a dinner with Obama, Abbas, Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Quartet envoy Tony Blair. Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet separately with each attendee.
On Thursday, Netanyahu and Abbas will open peace talks, joined by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
