Ma'an News Agency
October 8, 2010 - 12:00am
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=322010


President Mahmoud may submit his resignation after meeting with Arab leaders for an emergency Arab League session in Sirtre, Libya, a source told Ma'an on Friday.

The source said Abbas hinted at resigning from his post if peace talks with Israel failed during a meeting of the Palestinian National Council of Amman, which he attended before heading to Libya for the session.

Abbas will participate in meetings of the Arab League Summit and Arab Follow-Up Committee on Friday and Saturday, where he will "be equipped with a strong position" rejecting the continuation of direct negotiations with Israel over settlement activity, the source said.

The president hopes the decision on whether to withdraw or remain in talks will be supported by Arab nations and not issued by the Palestinian Authority solely. Since talks were resumed on 2 September, Abbas has threatened to walk out of talks over Israel's settlement activity, but is expected to announce his official stance before the Arab League.

Abbas is also expected to call for a united stance urging Israel to halt settlement construction in the West Bank as a precondition to continue negotiations.

On Thursday, Palestinian negotiations team member Nabil Sha'ath said Abbas would be resigning but did not detail when the president would step down.




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