Palestinian leader, Israeli PM hold first call in years

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has received a call from Israel’s caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, the first such conversation between Abbas and an Israeli premier in years. The call came amid a rare flurry of high-level Israeli-Palestinian contacts ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank next week. The talks focused on calming tensions and coordinating security ahead of the visit. Abbas received Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz at his headquarters in the occupied West Bank town of Ramallah on Thursday and also spoke to Israeli President Isaac Herzog by phone. The peace process collapsed more than a decade ago. High-level meetings are rare and tend to focus on day-to-day issues.