BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- The Palestinian Authority foreign minister on Thursday said President Mahmoud Abbas expected to receive a response to a letter sent to Israel's leadership in the coming days.

Riyad al-Malki said Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to legalize three settler outposts two days after receiving the letter from Abbas may have amounted to a "contradictory response."

"The response contradicts with Palestinian efforts to resume negotiations," he said.

The minister said Israeli practices on the ground amounted to a response "in one way or another," but said "despite this, the Palestinian leadership is expecting a written response."

Abbas last month sent his chief negotiator and intelligence chief to deliver a letter from the president to Netanyahu laying out Palestinian grievances over the failure of talks.