Across Asia: West Bank

Halt settlement: Abbas

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.

"We cannot go to negotiations without a framework. And we say the framework is UN resolutions, meaning a return to the 1967 borders," Abbas told his Fatah party members in Ramallah on the 5th anniversary of the death of his predecessor Yasser Arafat. "What's new in this demand? Also, we want a full stop to settlements, including natural growth and in Jerusalem."