BICOM

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday telephoned Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to offer greetings for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and expressed hopes that they would resume peace talks soon.

Netanyahu told Abbas, “I called to send you my blessings for Ramadan” and added, “I hope we will have the opportunity to speak with one another not only during festivals, and will start negotiating. It’s important.” According to an official statement, Netanyahu commented, “I hope Secretary of State Kerry’s efforts will show results.”

Kerry has made a concerted effort to kick-start peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders since taking office in February. Although Netanyahu has consistently called for the PA to talk without pre-conditions, Abbas has insisted that Israel must first freeze all settlement construction, agree to 1967 borders plus swaps and release pre-Oslo prisoners.  However, at the end of his last visit to the region two weeks ago, Kerry announced in optimistic mood, “I know progress when I see it, and we are making progress.” Kerry was expected to return last week, but he was delayed owing to a sudden illness to his wife. The Times of Israel reports this morning that Kerry will arrive this week, possibly as early on Tuesday, in what would be his sixth visit since March.

Meanwhile, in an opinion piece published in Israel, former head of the Shin Bet security agency Yuval Diskin warned that “We are approaching a point of no return regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and urged “a diplomatic process with the Palestinians,” calling it “Netanyahu’s moment of truth.” Yesterday, former-prime minister Ehud Olmert also called for action, saying that unless negotiations begin “we’re at the point … where we are likely to miss the opportunity to preserve the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”