Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with his Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak, on Thursday and insisted that he would not engage in peace talks with Israel while it continued to build West Bank settlements.
Abbas was in Cairo for talks on the peace negotiations following a statement by Washington saying the US had withdrawn its demand for an extended settlement freeze.
Abbas is currently holding consultations with Arab leaders, and on Wednesday he met with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.
This weekend the Palestinian government is scheduled to complete a debate on the stalemate in peace talks, and emerge with its position on how to continue.
Meanwhile, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat is scheduled to visit the US for talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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