Netanyahu Calls Abbas, Hopes To Renew Negotiations
Image by Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday telephoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and said he hoped the two sides could resume peace talks, stalled for three years, Israeli officials said.
Netanyahu offered greetings for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, his office said, adding that he told Abbas: “I hope we will have the opportunity to speak with one another not only during festivals, and will start negotiating. It’s important.”
Direct talks broke down in 2010 over Israel’s settlement of the occupied West Bank, which Palestinians want as part of their future state. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has in recent months mounted shuttle visits in the hope of reviving negotiations.
“I hope Secretary of State Kerry’s efforts will show results,” Netanyahu said, according to the Israeli statement.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
