Abbas and Saudi king to discuss stalled peace talks

"This comes at a critical stage in the negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis," the official said, pointing to Israel's refusal to extend a moratorium on Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank and east Jerusalem that expired on September 26.
On October 9, foreign ministers of the Arab League, in which Saudi Arabia plays a leading role, said they would wait one more month to see if the direct peace talks can be restarted.
Since the settlement moratorium ended, Jewish settlers have begun building at least 600 homes, a pace four times faster than before the freeze began last year, the Israeli activist group Peace Now said on Thursday.
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