Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Photo: Kremlin.ru via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas voiced optimism about the prospects for achieving peace with Israel, following a meeting with the Trump administration’s envoy for international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt.

According to a statement released by Abbas’s office after Tuesday’s meeting, the PA leader informed Greenblatt that he believes “under President Trump’s leadership a historic peace deal is possible.”

The statement also said Abbas is committed to preventing “inflammatory rhetoric and incitement” and increasing “outreach efforts to the Israeli public,” in order to de-escalte tensions and create an atmosphere conducive to peace talks.

Abbas “look[s] forward to discussing the possibilities for peace directly with President Trump during his upcoming visit to Washington,” the statement added.

Israel’s government has often charged PA leaders and official Palestinian media outlets with inciting and sanctioning violence against Israelis, most recently during the wave of Palestinian terrorism that stretched from October 2015 through the first half of 2016. Palestinian Media Watch, an organization that monitors and translates Palestinian news reports and social media content, has long documented these trends.

Greenblatt’s meeting with Abbas followed the Trump adviser’s five-hour talk the day before with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, in which they discussed a broad range of issues, including Israeli settlement construction and methods for bolstering the Palestinian economy.