FILE - In this Aug. 1, 2021, record photo, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz attends a furniture gathering astatine the premier minister's bureau successful Jerusalem. Gantz held talks precocious Sunday, August 29, 2021, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas successful the archetypal high-level gathering betwixt the 2 sides successful years, officials said. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 1, 2021, record photo, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz attends a furniture gathering astatine the premier minister's bureau successful Jerusalem. Gantz held talks precocious Sunday, August 29, 2021, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas successful the archetypal high-level gathering betwixt the 2 sides successful years, officials said. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)

JERUSALEM – Israel's defence curate has held talks with the Palestinian president successful Ramallah, the archetypal high-level gathering betwixt the 2 sides successful years, officials said.

Sunday's gathering betwixt Benny Gantz and Mahmoud Abbas signaled a imaginable displacement of absorption aft after the near-complete breakdown of connection betwixt Abbas and Israeli leaders successful caller years.

It came 2 days aft President Joe Biden urged Israel's caller premier curate during a White House gathering to instrumentality steps toward improving the lives of Palestinians.

Gantz's bureau said helium told Abbas that Israel volition instrumentality caller measures to fortify the Palestinian economy. It said they besides discussed information issues and agreed to stay successful touch. It was believed to beryllium the highest level nationalist gathering betwixt the sides since 2014.

A Palestinian authoritative said Gantz and Abbas discussed imaginable steps toward improving the atmosphere. He said this included Palestinian demands for a halt successful Israeli subject operations successful Palestinian areas of the occupied West Bank, allowing unification of families with relatives wrong Israel and allowing much Palestinian workers into Israel. The authoritative spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that helium was not authorized to sermon the late-night meeting.

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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is simply a hard-liner who opposes Palestinian independence, arsenic bash cardinal partners successful his diverse, ruling coalition. But Bennett has said helium supports gathering up the Palestinian system and expanding autonomy for Palestinians. He besides is funny successful bolstering Abbas successful his rivalry with the ruling Hamas militant radical successful Gaza.

While Biden supports a two-state solution betwixt Israel and the Palestinians, his medication is focused connected interim confidence-building measures. Israel's erstwhile premier minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pursued a hard-line argumentation toward the Palestinians, backed by erstwhile President Donald Trump.

The Trump medication took a fig of steps, including moving the U.S. Embassy successful Israel from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem. Abbas halted astir contacts with the U.S. and Israel successful return.

Netanyahu had repeatedly claimed Abbas was not a reliable spouse for negotiating a bid deal, a portrayal dismissed by Netanyahu critics arsenic a pretext for avoiding making concessions.

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Hussein Sheikh, a apical Abbas aide, confirmed the gathering successful a connection connected Twitter. It took spot connected Sunday nighttime successful Ramallah successful the Israeli-occupied West Bank, wherever Abbas maintains his headquarters.

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