Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas conveyed a message to the ministers of the Meretz party during their meeting on Sunday that dialogue with him, even if not in the form of official negotiations, may benefit Israel and that "everything will be on the table" - including the freezing of the lawsuits filed by the PA against Israel in the International Criminal Court.
According to a report on Channel 12 News on Monday, Abbas spoke to the Meretz members about keeping an open channel of communication and dialogue with him.
He added that if Israel does this, every issue would be on the table and subject to discussion as far as he is concerned, including issues that he sees as “sensitive and painful”, such as the freezing of the lawsuits against IDF soldiers in the International Criminal Court, and the cessation of incitement and payments to terrorists.
At the same time, the PA chairman claimed that Israel is not willing to accept a tripartite committee that the Americans are trying to promote, and criticized it for that.
Abbas also thanked Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz for his cooperation in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, and said he trusted Meretz to know how to get the government to promote further cooperation, such as with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, with whom he met about a month ago.
"We must start and create confidence-building measures, and prove that we intend to make peace," Abbas said at the end of the meeting with the members of Meretz, according to Channel 12 News. "It will allow me to keep the hope of the Palestinian people, because if we lose hope - we will lose the future."
During Sunday’s meeting, Abbas asked the Meretz ministers to send a message from him to Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked that he is interested in meeting her, Barak Ravid of Walla! reported.
Shaked swiftly rejected Abbas’ call for a meeting on Sunday evening.
"It will not happen. I will not meet with a Holocaust denier who sues IDF soldiers in The Hague and pays murderers of Jews," she tweeted.