With compromise elusive, Mideast talks threatened by end of settlement freeze at midnight

Israeli settlement freeze to end at midnight

JERUSALEM — Israel’s 10-month slowdown in West Bank settlement construction is set to end at midnight, threatening to upend the fragile new round of Mideast peace talks.

Attempts to find a compromise between the sides have failed so far. The Palestinians have said they will leave the month-old talks if construction resumes in full on land they want for an independent state.

Israeli settlers and their supporters have pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the restrictions on new construction. Some are planning to hold a rally Sunday to count down to the official end of the slowdown at midnight.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday that Israel “must choose between peace and the continuation of settlements.”