Report: Abbas’s Son Said He’s Against Two-State Solution

TEL AVIV – President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, held a secret meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ son last September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, veteran Israeli journalist Barak Ravid said.

Ravid, who is a reporter for Channel 10, cited unnamed Israeli officials as saying that the two met to discuss Washington’s long-anticipated peace deal. The meeting was part of efforts to bolster ties with Abbas’ inner circle, officials said.

Greenblatt is said to have asked for Tarek Abbas’ opinion on a peace deal, with the latter saying that he is against the two-state solution because he didn’t believe a Palestinian state would be possible in light of Jewish settlements.

Instead, the younger Abbas said, the ideal solution would be one state with equal rights for all citizens. A one-state solution could mean an end to the Jewish character of Israel.

Ravid noted that Trump himself had told Jordan’s King Abdullah in a meeting some months before that such a solution would lead to an Israeli prime minister named Mohammed.

According to Ravid, the meeting between Greenblatt and Tarek Abbas is proof that those closest to Abbas are no longer interested in the two-state solution.

Abbas on Saturday reiterated his pledge to thwart Trump’s peace plan at the PLO Council session in Ramallah.

“The U.S. administration is a partner of the Israeli occupation government,” a statement from the meeting charged. “It is part of the problem, and not part of the solution.”