Arab League chief says Mideast talks off

CAIRO - Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had told him he would not enter indirect talks with Israel.

The about-turn puts on hold U.S. efforts to bring together Israel and the Palestinians in so-called proximity talks.

It comes after Israel announced it would erect 1,600 settler homes in an area of the occupied West Bank it annexed to Jerusalem. Abbas had agreed to the talks on condition that Israel imposed a Jewish settlement freeze.

"The Palestinian president decided he will not enter into those negotiations now . . . the Palestinian side is not ready to negotiate under the present circumstances," Moussa told a news conference following an urgent meeting of Arab delegates at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

"The talks have already stopped," Moussa told Reuters later.

Arab League delegates said the resumption of the talks hinged on Israel halting settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and occupied territories.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden publicly scolded Israel on Wednesday over the settlement plan, saying it was undermining peace efforts after Palestinians agreed to U.S.-mediated talks.