Palestinian leader says Israel must choose between peace or continuation of settlements

Abbas says settlements block Mideast peace deal

UNITED NATIONS — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says there will be no peace deal with Israel unless the Jewish state stops settlement construction in areas the Palestinians want for their future state.

Addressing the U.N. General Assembly Saturday, Abbas said Israel must choose between peace or continuing settlement construction in east Jerusalem.

Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians have stalled only three weeks after starting in Washington in early September over the impending end of a 10-month freeze on new Israeli settlement construction on land claimed by the Palestinians.

The Palestinians claim all of the West Bank as part of a future state, and say settlements make it increasingly difficult for them to establish a viable country.