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Diplomats: Abbas Preparing to Hold Direct Talks with Israel
(Telegraph-UK) Adrian Blomfield and Samer al-Atrush - Mahmoud Abbas is expected to bow to U.S. pressure by agreeing to hold direct peace talks with Israel within weeks, according to Western officials. Despite publicly insisting that he has no interest in face-to-face negotiations unless Israel agrees to a raft of demands, Abbas is preparing the ground for what could be the resumption of direct talks after over 18 months of stalemate, handing President Obama a foreign policy success ahead of midterm elections in the U.S. this November. Western officials, as well as a number of independent observers, believe Abbas will reverse his opposition to direct negotiations in early September. "What Abbas is saying in public is not necessarily what he is saying in private," a European diplomat said.