Palestinian factions slam Abbas over meeting with Gantz

The meeting between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas with Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz in Ramallah on Thursday provoked heavy criticism within the Palestinian political arena.
 
The Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported on Thursday that Abbas discussed with Gantz "ways to create a political horizon and respect signed accords", adding that Abbas emphasised "the importance of preparing the atmosphere ahead of US president Joe Biden's visit".
 
For his side, Gantz said in a tweet on Thursday that he had met Abbas to discuss "security and civil coordination in preparation of US president Biden's visit". He added that the meeting took place "in a positive atmosphere and good spirit".

التقيت هذا المساء مع رئيس السلطة الفلسطينية محمود عباس في رام الله.

وعُقد اللقاء بمناسبة حلول عيد الأضحى المبارك، وكذلك لغرض التنسيق الأمني والمدني تمهيدا لزيارة الرئيس الأمريكي بايدن. وقد سادت اللقاء أجواء إيجابية وروح طيبة.

— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) July 7, 2022

 To the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, however, the meeting was described as "a stab in the back of our people", comments made by the movement’s spokesperson Abdel Latif Qanoua to Palestinian media outlets.
 
"We reject and condemn this meeting as an abandonment of the national condition," stressed Qanoua. "Especially since our people are subjected on a daily basis to Israeli aggression."
 
Similarly, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's spokesperson, Tareq Selmi, said that his group "condemned the meeting of criminal Benny Gantz with Palestinian officials in Ramallah".
 
Selmi added that the continuation of the PA's relations with Israel "represents an obstacle to the national unity that our people seek."

Meeting was 2 hours long. Gantz emphasized to Abbas the need to maintain calm with security coordination, as well as policy of strengthening PA over Hamas, with help of US and regional allies.

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 7, 2022

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also said in a statement that the Gantz-Abbas meeting represented "great harm to our Palestinian people and its national cause, as it contradicts the requirements of resisting the occupation".
 
"The only party benefiting from such meetings is the [Israeli] occupation, who seeks to whitewash its colonialist image," PFLP's statement added

Abbas-Gantz previously met in December at Gantz's residence near Tel Aviv, where according to Israeli and Palestinian sources, both leaders discussed economic support for the PA to maintain stability. Palestinian factions also decried the meeting at the time.
 
Thursday's meeting comes ahead of Joe Biden's visit to the country over the weekend.

According to Biden's visit schedule circulated to the press, the US president will meet Israeli government and opposition officials on Wednesday and Thursday. He will meet the Palestinian president only on Friday for less than two hours, before leaving to Saudi Arabia.