US President-elect Donald Trump held a phone call earlier today with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the latter’s office says.

Abbas congratulated Trump on his election victory this week and wished him good luck as he prepares for his second term in the White House.

Abbas expressed his readiness “to work with President Trump to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on international legitimacy,” the PA readout says.

Trump, in turn, told Abbas that he “will work to stop the war” and that he looks forward to working with the PA leader and all concerned parties to “promote peace in the Middle East.”

Bishara Bahbah, who was the national chair of Arab Americans for Trump, tells The Times of Israel he spoke with Abbas shortly after the call and the PA president characterized the conversation as “excellent.”

“They discussed the issue of peace and the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities,” Bahbah recalls Abbas having told him.

Bahbah insisted that Abbas is looking forward to working with Trump, despite a very rocky relationship during the US president-elect’s first term when the PA severed relations with the US after Washington recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017. The two had not spoken since.

“We’re in a different year now. We all graduate from positions that we have taken. There is a need for an immediate cessation to the hostilities and a return to the negotiating table for a lasting peace,” Bahbah says.

Source: Online

BDST: 1525 HRS, NOV 09, 2024
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