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Is Abbas spinning his wheels by meeting with Israelis?

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has had numerous meetings with various Israeli delegations in hopes of resuming the peace talks stalled since 2014.

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets Isaac Herzog, leader of the Zionist Camp, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Aug. 18, 2015. — REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

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.”

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