A document leaked to an Israeli newspaper outlines a series of temporary moves being made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in anticipation of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s upcoming trip to the Middle East:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to suspend all unilateral measures vis-à-vis the United Nations agencies to give U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry time to jump-start a new round of Israeli-Palestinian talks. This, according to one high-level official on each side. Both men asked not to be identified. Abbas passed a resolution to this effect at Tuesday’s Fatah Central Committee meeting in Ramallah.

“For a limited and specified period of time a new opportunity will be given to international efforts under way to break the deadlock in the peace process,” the resolution read. It went on to say, “In the event Israel thwarts such efforts, we will again turn to international organizations.”

“International efforts” in this context refers to a campaign of diplomatic warfare that Palestinian officials signaled they would conduct in the aftermath of securing a United Nations declaration of non-member statehood. The Palestinians have, among other things, reportedly prepared to sue Israel in the International Criminal Court.

The Ha’aretz write-up indicated that the Palestinians would suspend these efforts for eight weeks.

However, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudainah declined to confirm the report, saying the Palestinian leader “does not respond to the news through the media.”

Kerry is due in the region this coming weekend. Diplomatic and political sources indicate that he’s in the region to bolster Israeli-Turkish rapprochement efforts, which have been fraying in the aftermath of policy reversals and what the Washington Post criticized as “undiplomatic[] crowing” by Turkish Prime Minister. Kerry is also expected to take meetings in Jerusalem and Ramallah focused on facilitating talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

[Photo: U.S. State Department / Wiki Commons]