Abbas Urges Peace Talks With New Israeli Government — SkimNews
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- Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday, October 29, 2026, during a meeting with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia, that he hopes dialogue can begin immediately after a new Israeli government is formed, reiterating his aim that Israel and Palestine live in “security, stability and peace.”
- Israel had counted almost all ballots from a pivotal parliamentary election, with neither Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc appearing able to secure a majority; the uncertain outcome might mean weeks of coalition-building.
- State of Palestine has gained recognition from a growing number of countries, yet the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has remained stalled for years.
- Benjamin Netanyahu’s watch saw settlement construction and violence against Palestinians soar in the occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule.
- Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition ministers openly called for Israel’s annexation of the West Bank and advocated policies encouraging Palestinians to leave the territory and war-ravaged Gaza.
- Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, where more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements illegal under international law among roughly three million Palestinians.
- Gaza was left much in rubble by the devastating war Israel led under Benjamin Netanyahu following Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack.
Why it matters: Abbas is pressing for dialogue immediately after a new government is formed, yet ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition have advocated West Bank annexation and policies encouraging Palestinian departure. Those proposals bear directly on roughly three million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israelis living in settlements illegal under international law.
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