Palestinians-Reconciliation

Abbas: No Israel talks without settlement freeze

   CAIRO (AP) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has told the Arab League he
 will not resume peace talks without an Israeli settlement freeze.
   Abbas is under international pressure to resume low-level border talks that began
last month. However, his comments Sunday seemed to close the door to further
negotiations because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly
rejected a settlement freeze, as well as a demand to accept Israel's pre-1967 wa
r frontier as the basis for a border with a future Palestine.
   Abbas says he is sending a letter to Netanyahu with his demands for resuming
negotiations. In case of a negative response, Abbas said he will resume the
campaign for recognition of a state of Palestine by the U.N.
   AP-WF-02-12-12 1756GMT