Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Abbas says might not run in poll, officials say
Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:12am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Mohammed Assadi
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - 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, Palestinian officials 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," said one of the officials, who are briefed regularly by Abbas and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The officials said Abbas made the comments to Obama to vent his anger at what Palestinians see as an easing of U.S. pressure on Israel over construction of homes for settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
However, Tayyeb Abdel-Rahim, a senior aide to the Western-backed Palestinian leader, issued a denial and described the telephone conversation between Abbas and Obamas as "warm and candid".
Abbas, who has made a return to peace talks conditional on Israel ceasing settlement activity in line with a 2003 peace "road map", has threatened to step down on occasions in the past.
But Palestinian officials who gave details of his exchange with Obama voiced doubt he would do so now. Abbas's Fatah party, trounced by Hamas Islamists in a 2006 election, does not have another presidential candidate in polls planned for January 24.
"The Palestinian relationship with the U.S. administration is very tense," one of the Palestinian officials said. "They have retreated from their previous position."
The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat had no immediate comment.
At a meeting with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York last month, Obama urged Israel to show restraint over settlements -- a step back from his original demand for a construction freeze under the road map that charts a course toward Palestinian statehood.
Netanyahu has ruled out a complete suspension of building within settlements, saying the needs of growing families must be accommodated.
Now, Palestinian officials said, Washington is urging the Palestinians to resume peace talks, suspended since December, without a settlement freeze.
ENVOY'S RETURN
"You negotiated with (former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert while settlement activities continued. What's the difference now?," one of the officials quoted U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell as having told Erekat.
Mitchell is expected to return to the region later this week to continue his pursuit of a formula to revive peace talks.
In a Voice of Palestine radio interview on Monday, Erekat said negotiations with Israel were unlikely to resume in the near future, an assessment echoed by Israeli officials. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Somali pirates say holding British couple
also on reuters
Blog: Obama: "I may be skinny but I'm tough"
Full Coverage: Middle East Investment Summit
Video
Video: A Twitter take on classic lit
More International News
Iran wants big changes to nuclear deal with powers
Qaeda-linked group claims Baghdad bomb attacks
Bomb attacks in Afghan south kill 8 U.S. troops
| Video
Somali pirates say holding British couple
Tsvangirai party pins Zimbabwe crisis hopes on SADC
More International News...
Video
Claim Israel curbs Palestinian water
Play Video
More Video...
More News
Abbas says might not run in election, official says
5:02am EDT
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Detroit house auction flops for urban wasteland
SEC and Homeland Security need Web backup, GAO says
Kremlin warns against wrecking Russia with democracy
Iran wants big changes to nuclear deal with powers
Israel demolishes two Palestinian homes in Jerusalem
Why it's sane for Kim Jong-il to be crazy
Obama to give $3.4 billion in grants for smart grid
China's overcapacity: A waste but not a mortal danger
Obama: "I may be skinny but I'm tough"
Healthcare system wastes up to $800 billion a year | Video
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Senate bill includes public option
NASA ready to test Ares 1-X rocket
Artist draws Manhattan from memory
China drought worst in decades
Iraq attacks raise security doubts
Russians flock to see 'miracle' baby
A Twitter take on classic lit
Karadzic shuns war crimes trial
Obama won't "rush" on troops
Claim Israel curbs Palestinian water
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.