Representatives of Israel and Palestine have been holding confidential talks for almost two months on the issue of de-escalation of the growing tensions in the West Bank. This was reported on Monday by the Axios portal, citing sources.
According to their information, the Palestinian side conveyed through the US administration to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a message of willingness to work with him. Netanyahu accepted the offer and instructed the head of the Israeli National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, to conduct confidential negotiations with the Palestinians. On the Palestinian side, the discussion was led by Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh. They spoke several times by telephone and also met in person, the portal noted.
Hanegbi confirmed talks with the Palestinian side. "There have been conversations with the Americans and also with us about creating some new environment by stopping the unilateral actions that have been taken in recent months. We are ready for that," Axios quoted him as saying. "There is room for dialogue with the Palestinians, hopefully it will start soon," Hanegbi added.
The head of the National Security Council noted that Israel has asked Palestine to halt steps related to legal proceedings before the International Court of Justice. Ramallah, in turn, demanded that Tel Aviv abandon unilateral measures such as incursions into Palestinian cities.
The last meeting between al-Sheikh and Hanegbi took place recently and resulted in the cancellation of a resolution condemning Israeli actions to intensify settlement building and development in the West Bank for a vote at the UN Security Council, the portal reported. At the same time, its sources note that these confidential talks are important to keep channels of communication open.
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Based on materials from TASS