DHAKA: Israel and the Palestinians sharpened their rhetoric as US state secretary John Kerry headed to the region on Wednesday hoping to nudge the two sides towards a peace framework.

The latest United States quest for a long-elusive peace deal has shown little sign of progress since Kerry managed to revive direct talks in July, and this week leaders on both sides questioned the other’s commitment to ending the decades-old conflict.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas warned on Tuesday that his side would take ‘diplomatic and legal’ action against Israel in order to halt the expansion of Jewish settlements on land the Palestinians want for their future state.

‘We will not remain patient as the settlement cancer spreads, especially in (annexed Arab east) Jerusalem, and we will use our right as a United Nations observer state by taking political, diplomatic and legal action to stop it,’ he said, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1856 HRS, JAN 01, 2014
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor