Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president, yesterday met Amir Peretz, Israeli Labour party candidate for prime minister, in the first high-level talks between the two sides since the Palestinian elections brought Hamas to power.
Mr Peretz, whose party is trailing in opinion polls ahead of Israel's March 28 election, is engaged in a peace offensive involving moderate Arab leaders. During the course of his campaign, he has visited Morocco, his birth place, and last week met President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.
