Palestinian president, Israeli defence minister hold rare talks

In first high-level talks in years, Benny Gantz met PA President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday night.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz has met Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank in the first high-level meeting between the two sides in 10 years, the first since Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took office in June. Gantz travelled to the West Bank city of Ramallah for “security, civilian, and economic discussions” with the 85-year-old Palestinian leader, officials said on Monday. They came hours after Israeli leader Bennett returned from Washington, DC where he met US President Joe Biden at the White House.