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Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIJGSyprh5feyjrB1ylPvB7kt-0AD9IL1D680
Facing Stark Choice, Abbas May Stall
(AP) Karin Laub - As secretive U.S. mediation efforts drag on, aides say Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may try to stall until after November's U.S. midterm elections, hoping Obama will then be bolder in pressuring Israel. A Palestinian negotiator said the U.S. is seeking to extend a 10-month-old ban on housing starts in West Bank settlements an extra 60 days - a somewhat mystifying timeframe that has drawn notice for being just enough to get past the midterms. Palestinian officials have recently floated the idea of asking the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. As part of his attempt to persuade Netanyahu to extend the moratorium, Obama promised he would block any Security Council action for the next year, a Palestinian official said.