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President-elect Trump told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a phone call on Friday — their first since 2017 — that he will work to end the war in Gaza, according to a statement from the Palestinian presidency and a Palestinian official briefed on the call.
Why it matters: Abbas and Trump had not spoken since Trump decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. embassy there. But the call is the latest sign the Palestinian leadership wants to start fresh with Trump after a bruising four years when he was last in the White House.
Flashback: Last July Trump published a letter he received from Abbas and pledged to work for peace in the Middle East.
- Abbas said in the letter to Trump that he watched footage of the assassination attempt against the former president earlier this month and was gravely concerned.
- “Acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order,” Abbas wrote.
- Trump sent Abbas the letter back with a handwritten message, saying: “Mahmoud, so nice. Thank you. Everything will be good. Best wishes, Donald Trump.”
Driving the news: A Palestinian official briefed on the call said it was “warm and general.”
- Abbas congratulated Trump, wished him success in his upcoming term in office and “reaffirmed his readiness to work with President Trump in pursuit of a just and comprehensive peace, based on international legitimacy and principles,” the Palestinian presidency said.
- “In response, Trump emphasized his commitment to the stop the war and reiterated his willingness to collaborate with President Abbas, as well as other regional and global stakeholders, in efforts to achieve peace in the region”, the Palestinian presidency added.
- The Palestinian official who was briefed on the call confirmed that Trump said he wants to end the war in Gaza.
What to watch: Trump was a close ideological ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his first term, repeatedly taking steps like the embassy move that alienated Palestinian leaders.
- However, he has also publicly called on Netanyahu to wind down the war.