CAIRO, Jan 2: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Wednesday that US President George Bush must speak out against Israeli settlements during his visit to the region next week, because they were making peace talks impossible.

“When he arrives in the region President Bush must speak clearly about eliminating all obstacles which are hindering negotiations and settlement activity is the main obstacle,” Abbas said.

“It is impossible for negotiations to continue as long as settlements continue,” he said after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.

Bush is due to begin a regional tour, his first at president, on Jan 9.

The issue of settlements has been the main issue of discord since Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert revived peace talks at a US conference in late November after a near seven-year hiatus.

Since then, Israel has announced two expansions of settlements in the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem — moves slammed by Palestinians and criticised by Israel’s main ally Washington.

Abbas also said he hope that reason would prevail over Hamas after the Islamists rejected his call for dialogue aimed at halting the factional struggle that has torn the territories apart.

On Monday, he said he was willing to enter into a dialogue with Hamas but only if it first returned the beleaguered coastal strip to his control, a condition Hamas has repeatedly rejected.

“The initial reaction from Hamas was not encouraging, but we hope that reason will prevail to allow a positive response,” Abbas said after Hamas rejected that call.

The Islamist Hamas movement has ruled the Gaza Strip since June, when it drove out security forces loyal to Abbas in a week of deadly clashes.

Later Tuesday, Abbas renewed his calls for talks with Hamas following a meeting in Amman with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the royal palace said.

“We don’t have any conditions to start a dialogue with Hamas, but we hope that they would get the message and end their coup,” Abbas was quoted as saying.—AFP