Palestinians Say No Talks Without Settlement Curbs

The announcement came after a meeting of dozens of leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Mahmud Abbas's (pictured) Fatah movement.

Senior Palestinian politicians have backed President Mahmud Abbas's demand to link peace talks to restrictions on Israeli settlement building.

The announcement came after a meeting of dozens of leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Abbas's Fatah movement.

However, a final decision is only expected at an Arab League summit in Libya next weekend.

The development delivers a new setback to U.S. efforts to salvage Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is adamant about not extending a moratorium on settlement building, said in a statement earlier in the day that peace can only be achieved in negotiations and urged the Palestinians to continue talks.

compiled from agency reports