Earlier, Palestinian leaders have vowed to break off US-brokered peace talks which resumed only earlier this month if Israel ends the freeze on construction of Jewish homes in the occupied West Bank.
On Saturday Abbas told the UN General Assembly in New York that Israel must choose between "peace and the continuation of illegal settlements" if it wants international talks to succeed.
However on Sunday he told al-Hayat newspaper that if the freeze was not continued he would "go back to the Palestinian institutions, to the Arab follow-up committee".
As Abbas traveled to Paris for a meeting with Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, to "explore developments in the peace process", Israelis and US mediators were racing to find a compromise that would allow the fragile talks to continue.
Diplomatic efforts intensified to try to get Israel to extend the partial freeze on Israeli settlements construction in the occupied West Bank.US HOPEFUL
A top White House official said on Sunday that his country remains "hopeful" that Israelis and Palestinians will pursue fledgling peace talks despite the scheduled expiration on Sunday.
"We are going to urge and urge, and push throughout this day to get some kind of resolution" of the settlement issue, David Axelrod, President Barack Obama's top policy advisor, said in a television interview.
Axelrod told ABC News that Washington still thought a compromise was possible on the issue, despite preparations by Jewish settlers to immediately begin new West Bank building when the freeze ends.
"We think it's essential that they keep on moving forward, keep on talking, keep on trying to work through these issues, and we're hopeful that they will," he said.
Abbas: "Even if talks break down, and they won't, my beloved people will not resort to violence ...."
Posted by G, Z, or B at 10:36 AM
...And the winner is? Netanyahu!
"... Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, his threats to the contrary, will not scuttle the peace talks that have barely begun just because Netanyahu isn't extending the freeze. U.S. President Barack Obama, preaching for the moratorium to continue, can't force it on Netanyahu on the eve of the congressional elections when his party's leaders are calling for negotiations to continue without regard to The settlments.
Abbas and Obama will swallow the end of the freeze and wait for Israel to stumble by approving a provocative building plan. Then they will try to trap Netanyahu again and threaten him with a diplomatic crisis or endanger his coalition. This is what happened with Ramat Shlomo in Jerusalem, when Israel announced more construction while U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was visiting in March...."
Posted by G, Z, or B at 10:22 AM
Uprooted Palestinian
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