Lapid meeting senior Palestinian official Hussein Al-Sheikh in Israel — report

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is currently meeting in Israel with senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein Al-Sheikh, the Ynet news website reports.

Al-Sheikh, who heads the General Authority of Civil Affairs at the PA, is one of the closest officials to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and is in charge with civil and security coordination with Israel. He is considered one of Abbas’s potential successors.

If confirmed, the meeting would join several meetings that Abbas held with Defense Minister Benny Gantz and other center-left ministers in the current government.

The report cites a senior Palestinian source saying Ramallah expects diplomatic issues to be discussed during the meeting.

It also says Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was updated about the meeting ahead of time and that Gantz was also updated a short while before the meeting began.

Lapid’s office refuses to comment.