'Abbas, Fayyad at odds over Netanyahu meeting'
Reports claim Palestinian president 'not on speaking terms' with Fayyad, after he refuses to deliver official PA document to Netanyahu
Palestinian sources claim Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad are not on good terms following the latter's recent refusal to hand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a letter sent on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Monday.
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According to the report, senior officials in the Fatah movement managed to turn Abbas against Fayyad, claiming he crossed the line by defying the president's wishes.
The report also claimed that Abbas refused taking Fayyad's calls and directed his bureau to delay scheduling a meeting that was meant to discuss the composition of the Palestinian government.
Erekat and Netanyahu last week (Photo: GPO)
The recent disconnect between the two senior officials sparked rumors on the Palestinian street according to which Abbas wanted to undermine and humiliate Fayyad by asking him to meet with Netanyahu on "Palestinian prisoner day."
Last week it was reported that Fayyad said behind closed doors that he refused delivering a letter to Netanyahu, because he was not "Fatah's postman." According to reports, the Palestinian prime minister was also angered by the fact that he was not involved in drafting the document he was asked to deliver.
PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abd Rabbo, who was also scheduled to participate in the meeting with Netanyahu last week, canceled his arrival after learning that the members of the PLO were not notified on the final changes that were made to the document.
Eventually, Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and head of intelligence Majed Faraj were the ones to hand Netanyahu the letter.
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