Palestinian President, Israel’s Defense Minister Discuss Security Issues in Rare Meeting
02:43 GMT 30.08.2021 (Updated: 11:17 GMT 24.06.2024)
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TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the security situation in the West Bank and Gaza, the Israeli Defense Ministry informs.
Gantz also told Abbas on Sunday that Israel intends to take measures to strengthen the Palestinian economy, the defense ministry said.
The meeting came just amid the continued unrest on the border of the Gaza Strip, where fires have been set and clashes have occurred between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers. On Saturday, a Palestinian teenager who was severely injured during clashes with Israeli soldiers on August 21 died, and another Palestinian critically wounded passed away on Thursday, health authorities confirmed.
This evening I met with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to discuss security-policy, civilian and economic issues. I told Chairman Abbas that Israel seeks to take measures that will strengthen the PA’s economy.
— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) August 29, 2021
US President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the White House on Friday. During the talks, Biden reiterated support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Bennett has made it clear that there would be no independent Palestinian state while he is the head of the Israeli government, however, the prime minister has suggested that he is interested in better communication with Washington, in contrast to his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu.
