Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas again called for a halt to Israeli settlement building before he would resume peace talks with Israel, accusing it of trying to scupper Palestinian statehood.
Addressing supporters of his Fatah party in Ramallah on the 5th anniversary of the death of his predecessor Yasser Arafat, Abbas said United Nations resolutions called for there to be a "clear framework" for talks to end over 60 years of conflict.
"We cannot go to negotiations without a framework. And we say the framework is U.N. resolutions, meaning a return to the 1967 borders," Abbas said. "What's new in this demand?
Also, we want a full stop to settlements, including natural growth and in Jerusalem
"Also, we want a full stop to settlements, including natural growth and in Jerusalem," the 74-year-old leader said.
But Israel's hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to freeze settlements, and in recent weeks Washington has backed down, calling on both sides to return to the negotiating table without preconditions.
The presence of nearly a half million Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank including east Jerusalem has long been seen by the Palestinians as a major obstacle to the establishment of a viable independent state.
Abbas added that "resuming negotiations requires Israeli government commitment to the framework of the peace process, which includes halting settlement activity, including natural growth and which includes Jerusalem".
"Without this, I will not agree," he told supporters.
Accusing Israel
Abbas insisted the Palestinians remain committed to a peaceful solution to the conflict, but he accused Israel of hindering peace efforts by expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank including east Jerusalem.
"We see Israel confiscating land, building settlements and Judaising Jerusalem with unprecedented speed... and then they ask that we return to negotiations," Abbas told he huge crowd.
The Palestinian leader accused Israel of trying to thwart the internationally backed "two-state solution" that would bring a Palestinian state into being alongside Israel.
Netanyahu has ruled out going beyond a partial limitation on Jewish settlement building in areas of the occupied West Bank not annexed by Israel to its Jerusalem municipality.
Negotiating tactic
We see Israel confiscating land, building settlements and Judaising Jerusalem with unprecedented speed... and then they ask that we return to negotiations
Many analysts see the elections and the threat to quit as part of a negotiating tactic on the part of Abbas. His Islamist rivals in Hamas, who control the Gaza Strip, have ruled out holding elections there, leading many analysts familiar with the situation to conclude that a vote in January is highly unlikely.
Abbas told supporters on Wednesday that he still had his hand extended to Hamas, offering a reconciliation after the violent schism that split the Palestinians in 2007.
But he said he did not want to talk again about his decision not to run for a second term. He has not so far made clear whether he would stay on if no elections were in fact held.
Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in 1967. Abbas wants to found a Palestinian state in the two main territories, with its capital in Jerusalem
Arafat, who died aged 75 in a French hospital on Nov. 11, 2004, remains a beloved symbol of unity and resistance to Israel for the Palestinians, who have been riven by factional fighting in recent years.
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