Jerusalem (CNN) As the White House prepares to unveil its long-awaited plan for a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians, CNN has learned that the Trump administration has made a renewed attempt to speak to the Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. But according to two senior Palestinian officials close to Abbas, who both spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, the administration recently sent a message through a third party asking whether Abbas would accept a phone call from Trump. Neither official was prepared to put a date on when the attempt was made, nor would they discuss the identity of the third party. Both officials indicated the White House overture had been rebuffed. The White House did not respond to CNN's request for comment, but six senior Palestinian officials contacted by CNN, among them PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erakat, insisted there had been no contact between Abbas's office and the White House for more than two years.

Source: CNN January 26, 2020 02:48 UTC