(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as part of a goodwill gesture to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. According to a statement by the Prime Ministers’ Office, Netanyahu told Abbas that the citizens of Israel want peace and that Israel would continue to act towards regional stability. The call was the first official contact between the leaders since they spoke after the June 2014 kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas. But reports indicate that Netanyahu and Abbas have spoken several times secretly over the last few months. Those talks have led to several informal measures on both sides to ease tensions, including Israel slowing down construction in Judea and Samaria and the Palestinians halting efforts for unilateral international recognition, the Times of Israel reported. Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders have denied those reports.