King Salman pictured here in Tokyo on March 12, 2017 has invited Mahmoud Abbas to Muslim Leaders-US Summit-EPA photo.
Riyadh, 14 Sha’ban 1438/11 May 2017 (MINA) – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has reportedly invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to a summit between Muslim leaders and US President Donald Trump in the Saudi capital, reports say.
The Saudi charge d’affaires in Jordan had delivered a letter to Abbas inviting him to the Summit to be held in Riyadh on May 20-21, Press TV reported, citing media on Wednesday
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Meanwhile, an unnamed Palestinian Authority official confirmed that Abbas had agreed to a trilateral meeting with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the US president’s scheduled trip to Palestine on May 22-23.
On Tuesday, during a meeting with German President Frank Walter-Steinmeier, Abbas said that he was willing to meet Netanyahu in line with efforts by Trump to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks.
During a meeting with Abbas in the White House earlier in the month, Trump said that he saw a “very good chance” for peace between Israel and Palestine.
“Hopefully something terrific can come out between the Palestinians and Israel,” he said.
The last round of the so-called peace talks collapsed in April 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.
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The Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law as they are built on occupied territories.
Following a mid-February meeting with Netanyahu, Trump said he would not pursue decades of American policy in favor of the so-called two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump also urged Netanyahu to “hold back on settlements for a little bit.”
UN Security Council Resolution 2334 calls on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem” al-Quds.
Over half a million Israelis live in more than 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem al-Quds. (T/RS5/RS1)
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