Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Egypt and other Arab
countries in the coming days to brief their leaders on Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu’s response to a letter he sent him last month.
The PA has
expressed disappointment in Netanyahu’s response, which was delivered to Abbas
by envoy Yitzhak Molcho last Saturday night.
PA officials in Ramallah
have described the response as “vague,” adding that Netanyahu did not provide
clear answers on major issues such as the settlements and the borders of a
future Palestinian state.
In his letter to Netanyahu, Abbas demanded a
full freeze of settlement construction and Israeli recognition of the pre-1967
lines as the basis for a two-state solution. He also demanded the release of
Palestinian prisoners, especially those who were imprisoned before the signing
of the Oslo Accords in 1993.
Abbas will arrive in Cairo on Friday, where
he is scheduled to hold talks on the subject with Mohamed Tantawi, the de facto
ruler of Egypt.
Abbas will also visit Amman for talks with King Abdullah
II, a PA official said, adding that the tour could also include Qatar and Saudi
Arabia.
PLO executive committee member Wasel Abu Yusef said Abbas was
planning on calling for a meeting of the Arab League to discuss the Israeli
reply to his letter. Abu Yusef said that after the meeting Abbas will decide on
the PA’s future steps “in wake of continued Israeli intransigence.”