Abbas talks with Israeli official on resuming peace talks

RAMALLAH (Xinhua) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday held a secret meeting with a senior Israeli official over the resumption of the stalled peace negotiations, an official source revealed on Saturday.

The meeting was held on the eve of US John Kerry's visit to Israel and the West bank on Sunday. Kerry is coming to the region to help Israel and the Palestinians to resume their talks, which had been stalled since Oct. 2010.

The source, which spoke in condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that the meeting between Abbas and the Israeli official was held at Abbas house in the West Bank city of Ramallah away from mass media.

The source declined to reveal the identity of the senior Israeli official who held talks with Abbas earlier on Saturday in Ramallah, but said that both discussed the developments of the efforts to resume the direct talks and the question of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

The meeting between Abbas and the senior Israeli official is the first of its kind since the direct peace talks between the two sides had stopped after the Israeli government kept settlement building in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem.