JERUSALEM, 30 December 2021, (TON): Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas visited Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz during a rare trip to Israel for what Gantz s department said were talks on security and civil matters.

An Israeli Defence Ministry statement said “Gantz told Abbas that he intended to continue to promote actions to strengthen confidence in the economic and civilian fields, as agreed during their last meeting.”

“The two men discussed security and civil matters,” it added of the meeting, which Israeli media reported took place at Gantz s home in Rosh HaAyin, central Israel.

In late August, Gantz visited the Palestinian Authority s headquarters for talks with Abbas, the first official meeting at such a level in several years.

But after those talks, Israel s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that there was no peace process ongoing with the Palestinians, “and there won t be one”.

Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh tweeted on Wednesday that “Abbas met with Benny Gantz, where the meeting dealt with the importance of creating a political horizon that leads to a political solution in accordance with international resolutions”.