Netanyahu Invites Abbas to Talk 'Any Day This Week'

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday said he was waiting for a visit by Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, after the latter said he had already proposed such a meeting.

"A few days ago, on Israeli television, I heard president Abbas say that if I invite him to meet, he'll come," Netanyahu told reporters at a meeting with visiting Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek.

"I'm inviting him again," he said in English. "I've cleared my schedule this week. Any day he can come, I'll be here."

Netanyahu's comments come after President Reuven Rivlin also said Monday he is ready to meet with Abbas.

In an interview with Channel 2 last Thursday, Abbas said that he was ready to meet Netanyahu "any time."

US-backed peace talks between the PA and Israel were torpedoed by the PA in April 2014, after Abbas signed a unity deal with Hamas.

Netanyahu and Abbas shook hands at a climate summit in Paris in November, but held no significant talks. Netanyahu has repeatedly said he is open to talk with Abbas, but that the PA chairman is refusing to talk.

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