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Abbas to meet U.S. vice president on tensions with Israel: official

Xinhua, March 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to meet with the U.S. Vice President Joe Biden over the current tensions with Israel and the stalled Middle East peace process, a senior Palestinian official said Saturday.

The two are scheduled to meet in the West Bank city of Ramallah next Wednesday amid Biden's tour in the region that also includes the UAE, Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, according to Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee.

The official said, however, no new ideas were presented before Biden's visit pertaining to the Palestinian cause or the peace process with Israel.

"What we were informed was that the general theme of Biden's visit is counter-terrorism and particularly against the Islamic State (IS)," said Majdalani, adding that the meeting is expected to involve the issues like Palestinian development and an international peace conference.

He expressed less hope of an American move "in light of Washington's upcoming elections and its unwillingness to push Israel in the peace process."

The Israeli public radio reported that a senior official at the White House said Biden's visit includes no suggestions on the Palestinian-Israeli issue.

Abbas met with U.S. State Secretary John Kerry on Feb. 21 in Amman, without citing progress.

The peace progress between Israel and Palestine has been stalled since April 2014, after nine months of talks achieved no tangible results. Endit