Abbas-Mofaz meeting may be postponed

The member of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) Wasel Abu Yousef has said the committee will convene a session on Saturday afternoon headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the latter’s meeting with the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz scheduled for Sunday. Abu Yousef said to Arabsotday that the meeting might be postponed until a place for the meeting outside Ramallah is agreed on, most likely Jericho, Amman, or Jerusalem. Another political source said that Mofaz’s visit to Ramallah had been suspended until another place is agreed on. The official said in press statements that Palestinian leadership made the decision in response to popular demands among the Palestinian public. A Facebook campaign by activists, civil society organisations, youths from several factions, and the Palestinian public had earlier denounced the visit. Many called for mass rallies in Ramallah to protest against the visit. Among the slogans that were circulated is “Ramallah does not accept the killer of children”. The Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat had announced that Abbas would meet with Mofaz on Sunday in Ramallah, in response to a request from Mofaz. The two will discuss the political situation, though Erekat said the meeting would nto amount to concrete negotiations.