Palestinian sources: Abbas has second thoughts about unilateral UN bid

Top Palestinian officials said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would like to “climb down from the tree” and find a mutually acceptable formula for restarting negotiations, preferably based on ideas presented by President Barack Obama recently.

At the same time, there is a widespread sense that Abbas, having advertised his intentions so prominently, has left himself with little room to maneuver and may proceed with the UN gambit simply to avoid a loss of credibility. “We are trapped with September,” said one official. “We don’t know what to do after that.” (AP)