adminIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have spoken by phone, a rare exchange amid years of paralysed peace efforts.
Netanyahu’s office says the Israeli leader wished Abbas a happy Eid el-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that caps the fasting month of Ramadan.
A statement says Netanyahu told Abbas the citizens of Israel want peace and that Israel would “continue to act toward regional stability”.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA says Abbas told Netanyahu it is important to reach a peace deal next year.
The Palestinians want to establish a state in lands Israel captured in 1967.
The two leaders remain apart on the framework for a deal, with Netanyahu rejecting the internationally backed idea that border talks should use the pre-1967 frontier as a base. – AP
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter