Palestinian president to visit Qatar for talks

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Qatar on Monday for talks with the country's ruler Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, according to the Palestinian envoy in Doha.

Talks between the two leaders will tackle "coordination of joint positions in light of challenges and suspicious schemes against the Palestinian cause", Monir Ghannam told the official Voice of Palestine radio.

He said Abbas will also hold talks with a number of Qatari officials during his three-day visit to the Gulf state.

The visit comes amid Palestinian anger over a U.S. back-channel peace plan known as the "Deal of the Century".

Although the terms of the U.S. plan will not be made public until June, many critics believe it will call on the Palestinian leadership to make a number of concessions to Israel.

Based on recent leaks of the plan in the Israeli media, these concessions will likely include recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and abandoning the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine.