Abbas: Netanyahu said freeze would lead to government collapse

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with a hundred Israelis at the Mukataa in Ramallah on Sunday and said that in his meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the two only discuss security issues. He added that Netanyahu avoids talking about other issues, claiming he cannot extend the freeze out of fear that it would lead to the collapse of his government.

Abbas said he had told the prime minster he cannot agree to negotiations without a freeze, and that Netanyahu had replied that he cannot freeze settlement construction because his government will collapse. (Attila Somfalvi)