A leaked memo from Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas accuses the Obama administration of buckling under Israeli pressure and said that any hope had "evaporated".The document, which reflects a wider frustration with the White House's lack of action on Middle East peace, says that "All hopes placed in the new US administration and President Obama have evaporated,".
The memo continued to say that Obama "couldn't withstand the pressure of the Zionist lobby, which led to a retreat from his previous positions on halting settlement construction and defining an agenda for the negotiations and peace".
Palestinians have remained resolute that talks cannot begin until the construction of Israeli settlements ceases. They are also pushing for the pre-1967 war borders to be respected by Israel before they are willing to negotiate.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior aide to Abbas said "The Israelis need to acknowledge that the 1967 borders are the borders between the two states, and this is the foundation of any negotiations,".
Despite a meeting between Obama, Abbas and Netanyahu and the US president's Nobel Peace Prize there have been difficulties in starting negotiations. Notably, the White House has changed the language used on the Israeli settlements, no longer calling for an immediate cessation but for a toned down "restraint".
Tensions remain heightened between Israel and Palestine after the Gaza War early in the year and the subsequent calls for international prosecutions of both sides for war crimes.
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