28 Mar 2010

Palestinian leader rules out talks with Israel

8:39 am on 28 March 2010

The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has ruled out United States-brokered indirect talks with Israel unless the Jewish state changes its settlement policy.

Mr Abbas told an Arab League summit he would not resume negotiations as long as Israel maintained the status quo in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

He was seeking support after Israel appeared to refuse to back down in a row with the US over East Jerusalem, the BBC reports.

Meanwhile, Israeli tanks have withdrawn from Gaza after an overnight incursion, according to witnesses.

It ended an incursion into the Hamas-ruled enclave made after the bloodiest clash in 14 months killed two soldiers and up to four Palestinians.

Hamas said its fighters had been involved in the initial border clash, but insisted their actions were defensive. Israel said it began when its troops spotted militants planting explosives along the border.