Palestinian groups call on Abbas to abandon peace talks with Israel

Some Palestinian groups and politicians called on President Mahmoud Abbas to halt peace negotiations with Israel. Organizers of a campaign to abandon the talks said at a news conference in Ramallah Sunday Abbas should "give in to popular demands to stop the negotiations with the government of [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu," The Jerusalem Post reported Monday. They said Abbas should stop the talks in favor of "reorganizing the Palestinian home and completing efforts to see Palestinian membership in the U.N." The groups produced a petition that rejects any land swaps with Israel. An unnamed Palestinian source said Abbas is expected to tell U.S. President Barack Obama "Israel's policies are jeopardizing the peace talks," the report said. The two leaders are scheduled to meet in New York Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Palestinian groups involved in the campaign include the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, The National Initiative, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian Democratic Union and the Palestinian People's Party. Several Palestinian political figures are also involved, the newspaper said. Maariv reported that Mussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, wrote on his Facebook page: "We are witnessing the Palestinian Authority's political failure and the start of a popular uprising ... ."