Abbas: Settlements scuttled peace talks

CAIRO, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Israel's intransigence on West Bank settlement expansion torpedoed a U.S. attempt to restart peace negotiations, a Palestinian leader said Saturday.

The Jerusalem Post said Israel Radio reported Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made the comments in Cairo after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Abbas reportedly added that progress on the settlement issue isn't likely to be made until U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell returns after attending next week's opening of the new U.N. General Assembly session in New York.

Mitchell failed to secure a hoped-for pre-General Assembly agreement this week during a round of shuttle diplomacy between Israel and Palestinian leaders that would have opened the way for a resumption of the stalled peace talks.

Israel Radio on Friday quoted lead Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat as saying the United States unsuccessfully sought both a three-way meeting between President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Abbas as well as an environment where Israel could continue to build settlements, the Post said.