CAIRO, January 2, 2008 (WAFA) - President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday termed the issue of settlements as the main negotiation obstacle that came up after the Annapolis conference held in late November 2007 in the United States.

At a press conference after his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, President Abbas noted that the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations could not continue with settlement activities going on.

He said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has recently promised to send a message to all Israeli ministers to halt settlement activities, adding that he believes Olmert has done so.

President Abbas, who arrived in Egypt on Tuesday, called on Israel to really stop settlement activities on the ground, expressing hope that those expected developments would keep the door open for negotiations, committees' formation and final-status talks.