Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been busy meeting with Israeli delegations despite the uprising that began in October, even though both sides have been in a political standoff since the suspension of official peace talks in April 2014. It's not clear whether his efforts will pay off.

Samira al-Halaiqa, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for Hamas in Hebron, told Al-Monitor, “Abbas’ meetings with the Israelis are fruitless. He would have been better off meeting with his Palestinian brethren to complete the reconciliation deal stalled for nine years since the start of the division between Fatah and Hamas in 2007. It is not reasonable that Abbas tries to appease the situation with the Israelis through continuous meetings at a time when the Israeli army keeps killing Palestinians around the clock.”

Most of Abbas’ meetings with Israelis are coordinated by Muhammad al-Madani, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee and the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization Committee for Communication with Israeli Society, formed by presidential decree in December 2012.

Abbas hosted two August meetings at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah. He met Aug. 2 with the Israeli Meretz delegation headed by its chief Zehava Galon, and on Aug. 18 with Zionist Camp leader Yitzhak Herzog, who warned Abbas of a third intifada.