News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Several Arabic newspapers reported Monday morning that Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas is ready to announce a freeze in negotiations with Israel following his perception that American President George W. Bush is not prepared to pressure Jerusalem for further concessions. The London-based Arabic newspaper Al Quds stated that aides to Abbas also informed him that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has reached an agreement with coalition partner Shas for new building in Jerusalem and several Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria.

Abbas is also preparing to announce to his cabinet in Ramallah that the United States is to blame for not being serious in its intentions to achieve a final agreement for a new Arab state within Israel's current borders.