In light of Israel's resumption of settlement activities, there are no signs of success for holding peace talks between Palestinians and Israel, Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary Yasser Abed Rabbo said today. In a statement to Sout al-Arab, an Egyptian radio station, Abed Rabbo said that "all indications do not reflect success for US efforts to resume negotations with Israel." He attributed this belief to what he described as "the Israeli government's stubbornness and continuation of settlement building in Palestinian occupied lands." If peace efforts with Israel fail, resorting to the UN Security Council will be the first choice for Arabs and Palestinians, said Abed Rabbo. Negotiations between both sides, which kicked off in Washington this September, have recently run into a stalemate. Palestinians base the resumption of talks on the cessation of settlement building, while Israel refuses to extend the settlement freeze which it ended on 26 September. Late last week, Israel announced its intention to organize a tender for the construction of 238 new housing settlement units around Jerusalem.
