Palestinian president and Israeli defense minister meet

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz have met in the occupied West Bank. They discussed security coordination ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to the region next week. The peace process collapsed more than a decade ago. High-level meetings between Israeli and Palestinian leaders are rare and tend to focus on day-to-day economic and security coordination. An Israeli statement said Thursday’s meeting in Ramallah was conducted in “positive terms.” An aide to Abbas says that he “stressed the importance of creating a political horizon.” Ramallah is where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered.