Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday US President Donald Trump was expected to visit the Palestinian territories “soon” and that he was ready to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of the US president’s peace efforts.

Trump is expected in the occupied territories later this month as part of his first foreign trip and the Palestinian president said “we are looking forward to his visit soon to Bethlehem” in the occupied West Bank, with speculation it will occur on May 23.

“We told him that we were ready to collaborate with him and meet the Israeli PM under his auspices to build peace,” Abbas told reporters while meeting German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Abbas met Trump in Washington last week for their first face-to-face talks.

Trump also announced last week that his first foreign trip as president will include stops in Saudi Arabia, the Zionist entity and the Vatican.

At the time of the announcement, a senior Trump aide did not rule out the possibility of a presidential stop in the West Bank, but said that it was likely to be contingent on security and Abbas taking concrete steps toward peace.

Source: AFP