RAMALLAH, West Bank — With Israeli elections approaching on Sept. 17, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raised eyebrows earlier this month when he met with a delegation from the Democratic Union that included Noa Rothman, the granddaughter of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and Meretz member Issawi Freij, in Ramallah at the Muqata. Channel 13 News reported Rothman and Freij saying after the Aug. 12 session with Abbas that the meeting had been aimed at putting the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the election agenda. The Democratic Union wants to reinvigorate and attract voters who still have hopes of negotiating a two-state solution.
Abbas expressed his wish that the Israeli government formed after the elections will resume negotiations, noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had refused to meet him on several occasions. Rothman described Abbas as a “partner for peace,” and noted, “He is desperate because of the lack of dialogue and negotiations.”
