Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has once again demanded a halt to Jewish settlement building before talks with Israel. Abbas told reporters in Cairo after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that Palestinians will not accept negotiations as long as settlements continue. He, however, said that a final decision on talks would be taken in consultation with Arab and Palestinian officials.The Palestinian leader said discussions with Egypt’s President were focused on the next step after Washington admitted that its efforts to persuade Israel to freeze settlements in the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem failed.Meanwhile the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry has called for a ‘strategy adjustment’ in light of the persistent deadlock on the Middle East peace issue. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also urged Israel to fulfil its Road Map obligation to freeze all settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.In a related move, Palestinian premier Salam Fayyad and Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat are heading to Washington today for talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Palestinian and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and top Israeli negotiator Isaac Molho will be attending a conference in Washington during which Clinton will give a keynote address outlining a new strategy for advancing the peace process.