Palestinian officials purposely leak unpublicized meet between Abbas & CIA chief

Not to be ignored by the press while Israeli PM meets with Trump, Palestinian officials leak news of ‘secret meeting’ between PA autocrat Abbas and CIA Director Mike Pompeo. 
• Abbas reportedly warns Pompeo that moving their Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could prompt violence.

By Daniel Siryoti

 

CIA Director Mike Pompeo met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday, in the presence of Palestinian intelligence chief Majid Faraj, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported.

While the meeting was intended to be secret, Palestinian officials leaked news of it to media outlets in the West Bank ahead of the meeting Wednesday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Autocrat Abbas – President Trump – PM Netanyahu

According to a senior Palestinian official, Abbas and Faraj spoke to Pompeo about Israel’s continued actions in Judea and Samaria, including settlement construction and Israel’s “goal” of annexing and applying sovereignty to territories beyond the Green Line using the Judea and Samaria Settlement Regulation Law.

Abbas warned Pompeo against moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to do during his election campaign, and repeated at the joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.

Abbas reportedly told Pompeo that moving the embassy would throw a wrench in the efforts to reignite the peace negotiations, and badly damage the prospect of a two-state solution. He also warned that the move could prompt instability and violence in the region.

Abbas’ office declined to confirm or deny the meeting’s existence.

 

View original Israel Hayom publication at:
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=40399