Abbas to concede more land to Israel in Trump meeting

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will present a plan that would see the Palestinians giving up 6.5 percent of their lands to Israel, three times as much as previously offered, MEE reported on Sunday.

The proposal excludes Jerusalem and appears to cement the vision of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert for a Palestinian-Israeli peace settlement, a Palestinian official close to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) told Middle East Eye.

EXCLUSIVE: Abbas to offer large land swap with Israel in Trump talks

"The Palestinian side will be presenting [during the meeting with Trump] a new vision which is quite detached from that of the majority of the Palestinian people," the source told MEE. "This vision is based on exchanging a lot of Palestinian lands.

"Previous discussions about a Palestinian-Israeli settlement revolved around the exchange of only 1.9 percent of the lands, but now we are talking about more than triple that amount," said the source.

Speaking with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday, Trump also said he was looking forward to discussing the peace process with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom he is due to meet in Bethlehem on Tuesday morning.

"I thank both you and PM Netanyahu for your commitment to achieving peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I also look forward to discussing the peace process with President Abbas."