Israeli settlements will end talks

Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas has warned that direct talks with Israel would stop if Tel Aviv does not extend its settlement freeze.

“The negotiations will continue as long as the settlement remains frozen, but I am not prepared to negotiate an agreement for a single day more,” Abbas told AFP on Monday.

He made the remarks a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the settlement moratorium will end as planned.

Netanyahu said there has been no change in our position regarding the freeze, which expires at the end of this month.

The latest round of the US-backed talks held earlier this month between the two sides failed to break the impasse.

Israel has refused to extend the partial 10-month freeze on new settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Tel Aviv has repeatedly violated the freeze by continuing to construct more settlement units.

Meanwhile, the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States have all called on Israel to extend the freeze to help talks continue.

The Palestinian Authority has also stressed that the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails should be resolved within the framework of any agreement.