Palestinians visit Knesset

JERUSALEM // Palestinian officials visited Israel's parliament for the first time ever yesterday to meet their Israeli counterparts, as the two sides embarked on a new round of peace negotiations.

The Knesset raised the Palestinian flag during a meeting among MPs, officials and businessmen from both sides.

"The meeting, which was attended by us on behalf of president Mahmud Abbas, was positive," said the head of the Palestinian delegation, Mohammed Al Madani, who is a member Mr Abbas's Fatah party.

"We talked about how to make the peace process succeed, and about the Arab initiative and the dangers of the process collapsing."

The meeting took place with current and former Israeli MPs, including members of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and secular centrist Yesh Atid, which is in the ruling coalition.

A member of Israel's Labour Party, Hilik Bar, said "this meeting is to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Abbas, and the negotiators in Washington".

* Agence France-Presse