November 21, 2005
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), has met with Pierre Besnainou, president of the European Jewish Congress (EJC) in the Tunisian capital Tunis. The meeting was also attended by the Palestinian deputy prime minister and Nabil Sha'th. The meeting discussed efforts to revive the Middle East peace process, the implementation of the Road Map and the role European Jewry could play in all this, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Leading politicians from around the world participated in the summit on Information Society in Tunis. Among the participants was Israel's foreign minister Silvan Shalom, who said that he shook hands with Lebanon's president Emile Lahoud. The Lebanese leader, a fierce critic of Israel with strong ties to Syria, denied that a handshake had taken place, according to a report by JTA.
