Mr Abbas is unpopular in the Palestinian territories, where two thirds of people want him to resign Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/ReutersThe Palestinian president was due to meet President Trump at the White House today with both sides trying to play down expectations that it could lead to a new round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Mahmoud Abbas is unlikely to secure a US pledge to push for a freeze on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, his condition for resuming talks with Israel. Mr Trump is equally unlikely to persuade him to agree to stop payments to Palestinian militants jailed in Israel, a demand of Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. Instead Mr Trump is expected to push for economic development in the occupied West Bank, where the unemployment rate is 18 per cent. Mr Abbas is unpopular in the Palestinian…

Source: The Times May 02, 2017 15:59 UTC