Abbas urges U.S. to step into settlement dispute

[Chris]

Abbas urges U.S. to step into settlement dispute
Palestinian president calls for help to save peace talks as clock ticks toward end of Israel's West bank settlement freeze on Sept. 26,
By The Associated Press

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he has asked the U.S. to settle a dispute with Israel over settlement expansion that is threatening to derail Mideast peace talks. Israel's 10-month partial freeze on new construction in West Bank settlements ends Sept. 26, and Israeli officials have indicated they will not extend the freeze as is. Abbas has said he'll quit peace talks with Israel unless the restrictions remain in place.

Abbas said late Monday that he has asked the U.S. "to intervene in the settlement issue." The Obama administration has promised an active role in the talks, Abbas told reporters accompanying him on his way back from Washington, where direct negotiations were launched last week after a hiatus of nearly two years.

more..............Abbas urges U.S. to step into settlement dispute - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

[Chris]

Abbas Asks Obama’s Officials to Confront Israel on Freeze
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has publicly put U.S. President Barack Obama on the spot, telling reporters that he asked the president to “intervene in the settlement issue,” the Associated Press reported. President Obama has sided with the PA, describing as “illegitimate” all Jewish communities in areas where the PA demands sovereignty, including neighborhoods in Jerusalem where 300,000 Jews live. However, he has stopped short of publicly telling Israel it will be at fault if Abbas quits the talks over the freeze issue.

Abbas’ public statement that he asked President Obama to intervene comes at a time when the president is suffering sinking popularity, with polls indicating that the Republican party will wipe away his majority in the House of Representatives and possibly in the Senate. An extension of Israel’s 10-month temporary building freeze, which expires September 26, has been the PA’s principle condition for continuing direct talks with Israel. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu initiated the freeze to satisfy Abbas’ conditions for direct talks, but the PA leader has rejected it for not being extensive enough.

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