PM said to schedule meeting on Thursday, as PA officials try to reverse US decision to bar Abbas from UN General Assembly, where countries plan to recognize Palestinian state
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly set to gather top ministers and aides for a discussion on Thursday in which they will explore the possibility of applying Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.
The meeting, according to Hebrew media reports, is to focus on the implications of international recognition of a Palestinian state, and how Jerusalem may respond to such a move. Applying sovereignty to parts of the territory, a step tantamount to annexation, is one of multiple steps the small forum is reportedly to weigh.
The meeting comes ahead of this month’s United Nations General Assembly, where a wave of Western nations intend to recognize a Palestinian state against Israeli and American wishes.
It also comes as Palestinian officials are seeking to reverse the United States’ decision last week to bar Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and some 80 other officials from the UN meeting — Washington’s own response to the intended recognitions.
Multiple Palestinian sources said this week that the PA, which governs day-to-day affairs in parts of the West Bank, is working through various channels to persuade the Americans to lift visa restrictions on Abbas and other senior Palestinian officials.





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