Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on three-day visit to Algeria

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Algiers on Sunday for a three-day visit to Algeria.

Abbas was greeted by Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune and several high-level officials at Algiers' International Airport. The two leaders will discuss regional issues of common interest as well as the Palestinian cause.

The key item on the agenda will be the preparation of the next Arab League Summit, due to take place in March in Algeria, the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Al-Maliki said on Algerian public radio.

"This visit takes place to consolidate coordination between the State of Palestine and Algeria, in order to inscribe the Palestinian cause as the central point on the agenda of the Arab League meeting," Maliki added.

The visit takes place against a backdrop of intensifying animosity between Algeria and Morocco over the disputed Western Sahara, which indirectly affects Rabat's relations with Palestine. 

Morocco recently accepted to develop formal ties with Israel in exchange for US recognition of Western Sahara as part of the kingdom.

Last week, Moroccan police violently dispersed thousands of pro-Palestine protesters in several cities across the kingdom for demonstrating against normalisation with Israel, after a visit to Rabat by Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz.

Morocco has been embroiled in a territorial conflict over the region for the last 45 years against the Polisario Front, an insurgency supported by Algeria.