Welcoming Abbas, as participants recorded the encounter on their cellphones, Netanyahu said of his attendance: “It’s something that I appreciate very much on behalf of our people and on behalf of us.”
But Abbas’s rare visit to the city, a short drive through Israeli military checkpoints from Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, seemed unlikely to yield anything more than handshakes.
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been frozen since 2014 and Netanyahu and Abbas, deeply divided over Jewish settlement on land Palestinians seek for a state and other issues, have not held face-to-face talks since 2010.
Abbas was given a front-row seat between European Council President Donald Tusk and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Obama briefly greeted the Palestinian leader with a kiss on each cheek before walking down the line to stand next to Netanyahu.
The United States and Ukraine have reached a consensus on several critical issues aimed at bringing...
Since the so-called ceasefire came into effect in Gaza on October 10, Israel has been consolidating...
Israel’s offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. More than...
The ceasefire in Gaza is broadly holding, despite sporadic clashes between the Israel Defense Forces and...
