German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a telephone conversation Tuesday that Berlin supports achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of a two-state solution, the official PA news site Wafa reported, days after saying she would push him to return to negotiations with Israel.
Neither leader indicated that they discussed a renewal of peace talks, but both voiced support for a two-state solution to the conflict.
Merkel also informed Abbas of the results of her meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week in Israel, the Wafa report added, without elaborating.
The chancellor met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem last Wednesday and Thursday.
Abbas thanked Merkel for Germany’s economic support in constructing PA government institutions and for supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the UN body tasked with aiding Palestinian refugees, the Wafa report also said.
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During a press conference with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday, Merkel pledged to call Abbas to ask him questions about the peace process and the situation in the Gaza Strip.
Abbas has rejected the Trump administration’s still unannounced Mideast peace plan, saying the US is not an honest broker. He has cited the administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and its decision to cut aid to the Palestinians.
American-mediated peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians last broke down in 2014.
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