Abbas, Israeli DM Hold First High-level Talks in Years

JERUSALEM - Israel's defense minister held talks late Sunday with the Palestinian president in the first high-level meeting between the two sides in years, officials said. 

The meeting between Benny Gantz and Mahmoud Abbas signaled a possible shift of direction after the near-complete breakdown of communication between Abbas and Israeli leaders in recent years, under former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.     Netanyahu pursued a hardline policy toward the Palestinians, backed by former U.S. President Donald Trump who had approved pro-Israeli policies such as moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem. Abbas halted most contacts with the U.S. and Israel during those years.       Netanyahu had repeatedly claimed Abbas was not a reliable partner for negotiating a peace deal, a portrayal dismissed by Netanyahu critics as a pretext for avoiding making concessions.