PA President Mahmoud Abbas Calls Isaac Herzog

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called Israel’s President Mahmoud Abbas to congratulate him on assuming his office. The two leaders spoke by telephone on Sunday evening.

“I thanked him and stressed that it is my intention to continue to maintain ongoing contact with him as past presidents have,” Herzog said in a tweet. “All this in the hope of helping to promote relations and in the hope for peace between the two peoples living side by side in this neighborhood.”

Abbas “stressed the need to achieve a comprehensive truce in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem,” the official WAFA news agency reported. Abbas also spoke to  Herzog about “the need to take practical steps on the ground to create the conditions for achieving a just and comprehensive peace.”