Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by the end of the month for talks about the situation in the Gaza Strip and a French initiative for ending the conflict with Israel.
A senior Palestinian official told the Qatar-based Al Khaleej news site that the meeting will be part of a two-week international tour by Abbas covering Egypt, Jordan, France and other “Arab, Islamic and foreign countries.”
In the two men’s first meeting since a failed coup in Turkey last month, they will discuss Palestinian internal affairs, the Israeli- and Egyptian-imposed blockade of Gaza and what the official called “the recent Israeli escalation in the region.”
Abbas, said the official, wants to develop ties with Ankara, and the visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. Also reportedly under review will be a French peace initiative, as well as Palestinian intentions to appeal to the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank.
The official indicated that Abbas would welcome any efforts by Turkey to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians in light of the failure so fair of French and Egyptian efforts.
Recent months have seen renewed peace initiatives by both France and Egypt. The Palestinians have welcomed the French bid but Israel strongly opposes it. Meanwhile, Israel has expressed keen interest in the regional push led by Egypt, but Palestinians have shown far less enthusiasm.
A US-brokered Israeli-Palestinian peace push collapsed two years ago, and progress currently appears unlikely before President Barack Obama’s final term ends in January.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is willing to meet the Palestinian leadership for peace talks without preconditions, but has accused the PA of inciting violence against Israel and says the core of the conflict remains the Palestinians’ refusal to accept the legitimacy of a sovereign Jewish state.
In June, France convened a meeting of world powers — without Israel or the Palestinians — to work toward organizing an international conference to reboot talks by the end of the year.
