Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas has once again ruled out peace negotiations with Israel without a halt of settlement activity. Addressing a large Palestinian crowd gathered in Ramallah to mark the fifth anniversary of iconic leader Yasser Arafat's death, he said that it is our right to demand the removal of all settlements from our land because they are illegal. He also demanded the removal of all Jewish settlements, which today are home to nearly 5 lakh Israelis.<br/><br/>The issue of Jewish settlements is one of the main stumbling in stalled US efforts to restart peace negotiations to end decades-long Israeli-Arab conflict. The international community considers Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, as illegal.<br/><br/>Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had already announced that he is unwilling to run for the next presidential elections due to lack of progress in creation of an independent Palestinian state.<br/>