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| Quartet keeps pressure for Mideast peace talks / Reuters |
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Interionational negotiators say they share US President Obama's sense of urgency in seeking durable Middle East peace, renew call for Israel to freeze West Bank settlements |
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The Palestinian president told the UN General Assembly that Israel's continued settlement expansion is blocking the resumption of Mideast peace talks.
President Mahmoud Abbas
warned in Friday's speech that "time is running out" for a peace deal.
Abbas has said he won't return to negotiations without a settlement freeze.
Israel refuses to halt construction, even though it is required to do so under an internationally backed peace blueprint.
The US stepped up mediation efforts this week, in hopes of restarting talks. However, both Israelis and Palestinians remain entrenched in their positions. Abbas' comments Friday suggested there is little hope for a breakthrough.
In his speech he said, "I call for sustainable peace and justice in accordance with international resolutions, but alongside this, I must warn that the policy of illegal construction in the settlements and of the separation fence, kills any chance of peace."
He appealed to the members of the General Assembly and said, "We call on the world to pressure Israel to obey international laws, and end the illegal construction – including in east Jerusalem."
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with the foreign ministers of the Quartet on the Middle East. A joint statement issued after the meeting said, "The only way to a sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is an agreement that will put an end to the occupation that started in 1967."
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