Kerry Blocked Netanyahu-Abbas Meeting

Kerry Blocked Netanyahu-Abbas Meeting, Palestinian and Israeli Officials Say

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently prevented a meeting from taking place between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, according to senior Palestinian and Israeli officials.
State Department spokesman John Kirby, however, said the details were not accurate.On Monday, Abbas met in Paris with four retired Israeli ambassadors. There he said he had expressed a willingness in recent weeks to meet with Netanyahu but that “a third party who is not Israeli” had blocked the meeting. Senior Palestinians and Israelis said Abbas was alluding to an incident that took place this month.Netanyahu has been conveying to Abbas for weeks now, both publicly and through official and unofficial channels, that he wants to meet to discuss the possibility of reviving the peace process. Netanyahu is doing this amid concerns about initiatives by international players, and amid the escalating violence in the territories and Abbas’ threat to tell the UN General Assembly he will reassess or suspend clauses in the Oslo Accords.
In the framework of the messages between Netanyahu and Abbas, an official who is not American tried to initiate a meeting between the two leaders. Abbas responded positively but said he had to consult with Kerry on the matter.
Palestinian and Israeli officials said Kerry asked Abbas not to hold the meeting and to wait a few weeks until the two met at the UN General Assembly in New York.
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