Israeli and Palestinian leaders hold first phone call in five years

The United States confirmed on Friday that leaders from Palestine and Israel held their first phone call in five years.

“We welcome the phone call today between [Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid] @IsraeliPM Lapid and Palestinian Authority President Abbas, the first such engagement in five years.  @POTUS looks forward to seeing both leaders next week,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted. 

American and Israeli officials told Axios that the Biden administration had been encouraging the leaders to connect ahead of the president’s trip. Israeli officials believed the atmosphere between the two countries would be improved should the two speak, according to the news outlet.

The call comes ahead of a planned visit that President Biden will be making to the Middle East next week, which will include stops in Israel and the West Bank. 

In a statement announcing the plans last month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden would be meeting with leaders from Israel to “discuss Israel’s security, prosperity, and its increasing integration into the greater region” and would reiterate “his strong support for a two-state solution, with equal measures of security, freedom, and opportunity for the Palestinian people” while meeting with the Palestinian Authority.

Earlier this week, the State Department shared U.S. findings on the death of Palestinian American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in May during an Israeli raid.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) gunfire was likely the cause of Abu Akleh’s death, adding, “The [U.S. Security Coordinator] found no reason to believe that this was intentional but rather the result of tragic circumstances during an IDF-led military operation against factions of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”

The family of Abu Akleh criticized the Biden administration following the statement and are seeking to meet with him once he is in the Middle East. 

Updated at 3:38 p.m.