Erekat Denies Israel Refused Abbas Letter

PLO official Saeb Erekat denied Saturday a report in an Israeli newspaper stating that Israel refused to receive a letter being prepared by President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas’ letter is said to be an overview of the PA’s position on the peace process and the future of relations between it and Israel.

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported that Saeb Erekat asked for a meeting with Israel’s prime minister, but his request was denied. During the meeting, Erekat was to submit the letter, the report said.

But on Saturday Erekat dismissed the report, but he confirmed making a request to meet with the premier.

“The Palestinian side is still waiting for reply from Israel to set a date for a meeting to deliver the letter,” Erekat told Ma’an. He said a PA delegation would deliver the letter to the Israeli side.

The London-based daily Al-Hayat, meanwhile, quoted what it referred to as high-profile diplomatic sources as saying Netanyahu turned down a Palestinian request to set a date to deliver the letter.

The source said that Erekat contacted Netanyahu’s office to set a date for a meeting, but the request was ignored and Erekat did not receive any reply to his request.