Abbas says might not run in election: official

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. President Barack Obama he would not run for re-election unless Israel dropped its refusal to freeze settlements, a Palestinian official said on Tuesday.

"Abu Mazen (Abbas) told him that he would not be a candidate in the presidential election (in January) unless Israel abided by the peace requirement," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said about the Western-backed Palestinian leader.

But other Palestinian officials voiced doubt Abbas would carry out his threat, saying he made the comments in a telephone conversation with Obama to vent his anger over what Palestinians see as an easing of U.S. pressure on Israel over settlements.