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Abbas Does not Object Holding Tripartite Meeting with Trump, Netanyahu- Palestinian Sources

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the 68th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters. (AP/Seth Wenig)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the 68th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters. (AP/Seth Wenig)
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Abbas Does not Object Holding Tripartite Meeting with Trump, Netanyahu- Palestinian Sources

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the 68th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters. (AP/Seth Wenig)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the 68th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters. (AP/Seth Wenig)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did not mind holding a tripartite meeting with US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington or elsewhere, Palestinian sources close to the matter said.

The sources stressed that Abbas was ready for any US arrangement in order to hold a meeting that would include the three leaders.

“The president was always ready for such a meeting, but Netanyahu is the one who has run away more than once”, the sources said, adding that an encounter between Trump and Abbas would take place this month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, but said a tripartite meeting was not yet on the agenda.

According to the same sources, no specific dates have been set so far, but the meeting would be held between September 17 and 20, before the scheduled speech of Abbas before the General Assembly on the 20th.

Trump is expected to meet both Abbas and Netanyahu in an attempt to activate negotiations between the two sides and explore means of establishing peace in the region.

“Abbas will tell Trump that the two-state solution is the only solution, and that any arrangements involving territorial peace, economic peace or patchwork solutions are unacceptable,” the sources said.

According to the Palestinian sources, the US president and his aides insist that a bilateral meeting with Abbas would be possible only after Abbas delivers his speech before the General Assembly.

The reason for this, according to the sources, is that the Americans want to hear what the Palestinian president will say in his speech and to verify that he will not incite against Israel.

Officials in Ramallah talked about coordinated moves between the US and Israel, as a way to pressure the Palestinian president ahead of the General Assembly session.

However, US officials have denied the reports. “The news is unfounded,” a senior White House official said.

“We are having fruitful discussions with the Palestinians, but we have not talked to them about the content of Abbas’ speech at the UN, and we are not putting pressure on them in this regard,” he added.

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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.