President Donald Trump was seen chatting briefly with Mahmoud Abbas before the two leaders posed for a photo. Trump tugged at Abbas’ hand and asked him to turn around for the photographers.
The Trump administration barred Abbas from traveling to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly last month.
Trump’s Mideast peace plan envisions a return of Abbas’ Palestinian Authority to running Gaza, but only after an open-ended reform process. The Palestinian Authority currently administers small pockets of territory in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.