Israel's Benny Gantz tells Palestinian leader Abbas 'Ramadan must be a month of peace'

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz wished Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas "a blessed Ramadan" during a phone call on Tuesday.

"Minister Gantz wished [Palestinian Authority] Chairman Abbas and the Palestinian people a blessed month of Ramadan," Mr Gantz's office said.

"Ramadan must be a month of peace and quiet and not a period marked by terror," Mr Gantz told Mr Abbas, referring to recent deadly attacks in Israel.

Last year during Ramadan, clashes that flared between Israeli forces and Palestinians visiting occupied east Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque compound led to 11 days of devastating conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip's rulers Hamas.

"Israel is prepared to expand civilian measures during and after the month of Ramadan, in accordance with the security situation," Mr Gantz said on Tuesday.

The statement did not reveal measures that would affect Palestinians.

Mr Gantz expressed "appreciation" for Mr Abbas's comments on an attack in the town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv late last month.

The Palestinian leader had issued a rare condemnation of the March 29 attack in which five people were killed after a Palestinian opened fire at passers-by, saying that the killings "will only lead to further deterioration of the situation, while we are all striving for stability".

A total of 11 people have been killed in attacks in Israel since March 22, including some carried out by assailants linked to or inspired by the ISIS group.

During the same period, eight Palestinians have been killed, an AFP tally shows, including two assailants in anti-Israeli attacks and six people the Israelis said had carried out attacks or were about to do so.

Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.