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.”

Elias Zananiri, vice chairman of the PLO's Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society, supported Abbas and Rothman's comments, telling Al-Monitor that the Palestinian meetings with the Israelis are aimed at emphasizing a crucial fact: “[There is] a real Palestinian partner for peace between the two peoples on the basis of a two-state solution.” He said that such meetings will continue before as well as after the Israeli elections.

“Both the PA and the PLO try to explain to the Israeli public the truth of their position and show that the right wing's claim that there is no real Palestinian partner in the peace process is untrue,” Zananiri stated. “Ever since taking office in Israel, Netanyahu has shown no desire to reach an agreement with the Palestinians. He froze the agreements and continued to implement unilateral policies to alter the situation in the occupied territories.”