Israel's Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon met with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday, and called on to renew the long-stalled peace talks.

The rare meeting was attended also by the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, and Deputy Finance Minister Itzik Cohen, according to a statement released on behalf of Kahlon.

The meeting was focused on security and financial issues, including the activity of Palestinian banks, building new industrial zones in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and creating new jobs in the unemployment-stricken area.

Kahlon, according to the statement, urged the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table with the United States as a mediator.

"The Americans are the only honest broker in the region," he said, adding that the talks should be restarted through the involvement of U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt.

The Palestinians denounced the White House as a biased broker following Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Dec. 6.

The meeting marked a rare talk between Israeli and Palestinian officials, after the last round of peace talks reached an impasse in 2014.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by Xinhua News Agency

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