President-elect Donald Trump has told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday that he will work to end the war in Gaza, according to an official statement from a Palestinian official and reported by the Times of Israel.
Abbas congratulated Trump on his victory and extended good fortune to him as his transition team prepares for his second term in office. Abbas expressed his willingness “to work with President Trump to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on international legitimacy,” the official statement read.
Trump and Abbas had not spoken since 2017 when the president-elect moved the U.S. Embassy to Israel’s capital of Jerusalem. Friday’s call is an indication that Abbas is seeking a reset of the relationship since Trump’s last term in office.
Following the first assassination attempt on Trump’s life in June, Abbas sent the president-elect a letter expressing his concern. “Acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order," Abbas wrote. Trump responded to the Palestinian president in a handwritten note that read, "Mahmoud, so nice. Thank you. Everything will be good. Best wishes, Donald Trump."
Bishara Bahbah, national chair of Arab Americans for Trump told the outlet that he spoke with Abbas after the call who described the exchange as “excellent.”
“They discussed the issue of peace and the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities,” Bahbah said. “We’re in a different year now. We all graduate from positions that we have taken. There is a need for an immediate cessation to the hostilities and a return to the negotiating table for a lasting peace.”