SCOOP: Senior aides of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been holding secret talks for almost two months in an effort to de-escalate rising tensions in the occupied West Bank.
Tzachi Hanegbi and Benjamin Netanyahu at an Israeli Cabinet meeting on Dec. 29, 2019. Photo: Abir Sultan/AFP via Getty Imagesand Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been holding secret talks for almost two months in an effort to de-escalate rising tensions in the occupied West Bank, three sources briefed on the matter told Axios.
The sources said Netanyahu agreed and appointed national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi to lead the secret talks with the Palestinians. In the first few weeks, the talks focused on day-to-day issues and the effort to de-escalate the situation in the West Bank, where tensions have been rising for months.on the phone and also met in person, according to the sources.understandings
A senior Israeli official said that even though the backchannel talks don't deal with final status negotiations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is important in order to maintain a line of communication between the leaders in order to solve problems on the ground and de-escalate tensions.
He was referring to talks to get the deal that averted a Palestinian-Israeli showdown at the UN Security Council.
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