Abbas calls PM, wishes a happy Pessah

Netanyahu tells PA leader he wants to cooperate, achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

By HERB KEINON
abbas smirk 224 88 ap (photo credit: AP [file])
abbas smirk 224 88 ap
(photo credit: AP [file])
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday for the first time since taking office, but the two announced no plans for an imminent meeting. According to a statement put out by Netanyahu's bureau, Abbas called the prime minister to convey his good wishes for Pessah. In statements the Prime Minister's Office put out after Netanyahu spoke with US President Barack Obama, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, there was a line about the leaders agreeing to meet in the near future. No such sentence was included in the brief statements on the Abbas conversation. Netanyahu, according to his office, reminded Abbas of the cooperation and discussions they'd had in the past, and said it was his intention to continue with that in the future as well, to further the peace process with the Palestinians. Abbas, according to the statements, said the two sides needed to work for the sake of peace. Netanyahu's office described the conversation between the two men as "warm and friendly." The prime minister took the call while touring in the North with his wife Sarah and their two children, Yair and Avner. The family's tour of Jewish historical sites started in the Upper Galilee and included Tel Hazor and the ancient synagogue at Korazim, and ended at Capernaum with what the Prime Minister's Office said was a lookout over the Golan Heights.