Israel's 10-month slowdown in West Bank settlement construction is set to end at midnight, threatening to upend the fragile new round of Mideast peace talks.
Attempts to find a compromise between the sides have failed so far. The Palestinians have said they will leave the month-old talks if construction resumes in full on land they want for an independent state.
Israeli settlers and their supporters have pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the restrictions on new construction. Some are planning to hold a rally to count down to the official end of the slowdown.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the United Nations General Assembly in New York that Israel "must choose between peace and the continuation of settlements".
Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians stalled only three weeks after starting in Washington in early September over the impending end of the 10-month freeze on new Israeli settlement construction on land claimed by the Palestinians.
Mr Abbas reaffirmed the Palestinian commitment to try to reach a peace deal.
"We have decided to enter into final status negotiations. We will continue to exert every effort to reach an agreement for Palestinian-Israeli peace within one year in accordance with resolutions of international legitimacy ... and the vision of the two-state solution," Mr Abbas told ministers and diplomats.
But with the deadline looming for Israel to resume the contested building, the Palestinians are waiting for US efforts to break the impasse.
President Barack Obama has increasingly placed efforts to resolve the conflict at the centre of his foreign policy, but both Israeli and Palestinian officials said a deal was far from certain.
State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said US special Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell met with Mr Abbas for about half an hour on Saturday. "We remain engaged with both sides," he said.
Israel's 10-month slowdown in West Bank settlement construction is set to end at midnight, threatening to upend the fragile new round of Mideast peace talks.
Attempts to find a compromise between the sides have failed so far. The Palestinians have said they will leave the month-old talks if construction resumes in full on land they want for an independent state.
Israeli settlers and their supporters have pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the restrictions on new construction. Some are planning to hold a rally to count down to the official end of the slowdown.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the United Nations General Assembly in New York that Israel "must choose between peace and the continuation of settlements".
Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians stalled only three weeks after starting in Washington in early September over the impending end of the 10-month freeze on new Israeli settlement construction on land claimed by the Palestinians.
Mr Abbas reaffirmed the Palestinian commitment to try to reach a peace deal.
"We have decided to enter into final status negotiations. We will continue to exert every effort to reach an agreement for Palestinian-Israeli peace within one year in accordance with resolutions of international legitimacy ... and the vision of the two-state solution," Mr Abbas told ministers and diplomats.
But with the deadline looming for Israel to resume the contested building, the Palestinians are waiting for US efforts to break the impasse.
President Barack Obama has increasingly placed efforts to resolve the conflict at the centre of his foreign policy, but both Israeli and Palestinian officials said a deal was far from certain.
State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said US special Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell met with Mr Abbas for about half an hour on Saturday. "We remain engaged with both sides," he said.