12/04/2009 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told on Sunday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose term ended on January 9, that he planned to cooperate with him in order to advance mutual peace efforts.
 
Abbas called Netanyahu to pass on his good wishes for the Passover holiday. During the conversation, which the Israeli Prime Minister's Office described as warm and friendly, Netanyahu reminded the Palestinian leader of their past cooperation and pledged to make the same efforts in the future.
 
This was the first conversation held by the two leaders since Netanyahu took office two weeks ago.
 
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki said Sunday that Abbas was planning a trip to Washington in the coming weeks to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama. Riad told the Palestinian daily Al-Ayam that a date has still not be set for the visit, but that it was likely to occur before Netanyahu's own visit.
 
King Abdullah of Jordan is also planning to visit the White House at the end of the month to urge Obama to move ahead with the Arab peace initiative. Abdullah would be the first Middle East leader to meet with Obama in Washington, ahead of Abbas or Netanyahu.