Welcome to live coverage of addresses by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu to the UN general assembly in New York – with Abbas expected to argue the case for recognition of Palestine as a state.

Abbas is expected to begin speaking sometime after 11.30am ET (4.30pm BST), with Netanyahu to follow in the afternoon, at around 1pm ET (6pm BST).

The central issue for both leaders will be Palestine's admission as a full member state under UN rules. Here's how the Guardian's correspondents in New York and Jerusalem previewed today's actions and potential consequences:

The Palestinian leader is expected to hand over a letter asking for Palestine to join the UN as a state shortly before he addresses the general assembly to plead the case for admission. The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is scheduled to speak shortly afterwards. He is likely to denounce the Palestinian move as destabilising and a threat to the peace process – even though that is largely dormant.

We'll be providing live coverage of both speeches here, as well as reaction and feedback from around the world – including in Palestine's West Bank and in East Jerusalem, where thousands are expected to gather after Friday prayers.

According to Reuters, there appear to be three possible outcomes to the Palestinian plan to seek full UN membership: a miracle, a muddle and a mess:

The miracle would be if diplomats dream up a document that may persuade the Israelis and Palestinians to talk peace after nearly a year of impasse and acrimony. The muddle would be if the Palestinian letter requesting full membership simply sits in the UN Security Council's inbox, ushering in a period of limbo while diplomats try to coax the parties into negotiations. The mess would occur if violence erupts after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hands over the letter, throwing the diplomatic efforts to the winds.

The Associated Press reports that a Palestinian has been shot dead in a clash with Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank:

The incident, witnessed by an AP reporter, began when some 200 settlers burned and uprooted trees Friday near the village of Qusra. Villagers threw stones at the settlers. Israeli troops arrived and fired tear gas, then live rounds. Settlers also fired their weapons. The man killed was identified as 35-year-old Issam Badran. A Palestinian medic says he was shot in the neck. Another Palestinian was wounded and taken by the army.

Here's a brief summary of the background to today's UN speeches by Abbas and Netanyahu:

• Palestinians are to ask for full membership status at the UN, on the grounds that decades of negotiations with Israel have failed to gain it statehood

• The move is opposed by Israel and the US, who maintain that the only way to create a fully-fledged Palestinian state is through negotiation

• The US has pledged to veto any Palestinian bid for full statehood through the UN Security Council

• The Palestinians could opt to go through the UN general assembly – but the assembly only has the power to upgrade Palestine's status from "entity" to a "non-member state"

• Palestine's improved diplomatic status could allow it to take Israel to the International Criminal Court

The Guardian Chris McGreal is at the UN in New York City – and he reports that Mahmoud Abbas is to very shortly submit the letter effectively requesting recognition by the UN security council of Palestine as a state to Ban Ki-moon, the UN's Secretary-General, before making his speech to the UN general assembly pleading the case:

No one expects the Palestinians to win in the security council because the US has said it will veto the request even if the Palestinians get the necessary nine votes in favour - and it looks as if they'll fall short after an intense American campaign to get countries such as Portugal and Bosnia to abstain. In any case, there is unlikely to be a vote any time soon. But Abbas can claim a victory of sorts at the end of a week that has seen a dramatic shift in the diplomatic ground in the Palestinians' favour. His resistance to pressure not to submit the request has prompted the most serious attempt to revive the peace process in years as Washington, London and Paris sought to avoid a showdown in the security council that could severely damage their standing in other parts of the Middle East, particularly for Britain and France which are heavily involved in Libya. The US's claim to dominate mediation has been damaged by its unrelenting opposition to the Palestinian move and Obama's astonishingly pro-Israel speech to the UN earlier this week. That has provided a chink for the Europeans and Arabs to press for a greater role. Certainly it has exposed Washington as a partisan player.

The meeting between Abbas and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been brought forward – so that Abbas is expected to deliver requesting statehood recognition very shortly.

The Israeli Defence Forces news desk has issued a statement confirming the death in Qusra on the West Bank reported earlier today.

The IDF statement is headlined "Events Following Violent Riot near Qusra":

A mutual rock hurling incident that occurred earlier this afternoon between Israeli civilians and approximately 300 Palestinians near the village of Qusra incited a violent riot, during which Palestinians hurled rocks at security personnel. During the riot, security personnel used riot dispersal means and eventually, live fire. As a result, Palestinian sources reported that three rioters were injured. Initial reports suggest that one of them was wounded and subsequently, passed away. The IDF and the Palestinian Security Authority is jointly investigating the incident.

Quartet envoy Tony Blair told the BBC today that he's not a supporter of the statehood bid:

You can pass whatever resolution you like at the United Nations, or at the Security Council, and it doesn't actually deliver you a state. And if you don't have a negotiation, whatever you do at the UN is going to be deeply confrontational.

Blair seems to think that statehood recognition somehow precludes peace negotiations, which is not necessarily the case.

Anne-Marie Slaughter – the former director of policy planning for the US state department in the Obama administration – regards the US veto of Palestianian statehood in apocalyptic terms in the FT (subscription only):

So, fine, let the US issue its veto. Then what? The move is likely to trigger violence in Gaza and possibly the West Bank; Israeli countermeasures risk igniting more anti-Israel demonstrations across the Middle East, particularly in Egypt, and possibly in Syria. In both cases a direct clash between the Israeli and Egyptian or Syrian soldiers in the Sinai or the Golan Heights is all too possible, with potentially catastrophic consequences. Beyond Israel's immediate neighbourhood the situation is just as bad. Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal has already said that a US veto would trigger a Saudi re-evaluation of the extent to which it will work with the US, particularly with respect to Iraq and possibly Yemen too. Saudi opposition to the Shia government in Baghdad would destabilise Iraq, and heighten tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The beleaguered Yemeni president is currently in Riyadh; Saudi refusal to co-ordinate its diplomacy in Yemen with the US would make it nearly impossible to resolve the current impasse. These are threats growing daily on the horizon. The move from threat to confrontation may seem unlikely, but remember the inexorable, deadly sequence of mobilisation that turned the assassination of an Austrian archduke into first world war. These things can get out of hand quickly.

This just in: Mahmoud Abbas has handed over the letter requesting a UN vote on Palestinian statehood recognition to Ban Ki-moon.

Abbas is expected to speak to the general assembly shortly.

Harriet Sherwood, in Ramallah for the Guardian, reports on an unfortunate accident:

As crowds gathered in Ramallah's Manara Square, the celebratory event got off to an unfortunate start when the large screen on which people will watch Mahmoud Abbas's speech fell forward on top of Palestinian singers who were mid-performance. Three were hit on the head and taken to hospital in neck braces.

Chris McGreal watches Mahmoud Abbas hand over the letter to Ban Ki-moon at the UN:

Abbas walked in to room with Ban. They stood, shook hands, posed for photos. Then Abbas handed over the application in a large white envelope with the Palestinian Authority crest on it. They shook hands again and that was it: Palestine made its bid to become a member of the United Nations. Abbas and Ban sat down at a table with their officials for a short discussion.

Abbas is to speak to the general assembly shortly, as soon as the president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, has finished. Sargsyan is discussing relations with Turkey, another low-point in international relations.

There's a live video feed at the UN website here.

Jim Jordan, chair of the influential Republican Study Commitee in Congress, backs the Obama administration's position on the Palestinian statehood bid:

The United States is correct to block the Palestinian Authority's effort to pursue statehood through the United Nations. It is important that American leaders, from the Congress to the State Department to the White House, send a clear message to the world that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Israel.

Now it's Mahmoud Abbas's turn to take the podium before the UN general assembly. A big round of applause greets him.

Abbas starts off with congratulations to South Sudan for its admission to full UN statehood.

"The question of Palestine is intricately linked with the United Nations," Abbas says, plunging into the issue at hand.

Abbas says that a year ago there were high hopes for a peace agreement. "We entered those negotiations with open hearts and attentive ears," Abbas said. "But these negotiations broke down just weeks after they were launched."

We did not leave a door locked or path to be taken ... we positively considered the various ideas and initiatives presented by parties. But all of these ideas were repeatedly smashed agaisnt a rock by Israeli negotiations.

Abbas now goes into greater detail about Israel's settlement building, particularly in the Arab parts of Jerusalem and the West Bank, and describes it (or his translator does) as an attempt to establish "a fait accompli".

Only CNN of the US news networks has stayed with live coverage of Abbas's speech this far, although Fox News and MSNBC are giving analysis rather than carrying the live feed from the UN.

"These are but a few examples of the policy of the Israeli colonial occupation," says Abbas, who says the sttlements will "destroy the chances of a two state solution":

This settlement policy threatens to also undermine the structure of the Palestine national authority and its very existence.

Abbas is now listing the conditions for continued negotations, including a call for Israel to cease all settlement building as a pre-condition.

"Our efforts are not aimed at isolating Israel or delegitimising it, "says Abbas. "We extend our hands to the Israeli government and the Israeli people for peace-making."

Let us urgently build together a future for our children where they can enjoy freedom, security and prosperity. Let us build the bridges of dialogue instead of checkpoints and walls of separation, and build cooperative relations based on parity and equity between two neighboring States - Palestine and Israel - instead of policies of occupation, settlement, war and eliminating the other.

The Guardian's diplomatic editor, Julian Borger, is disappointed by Abbas's effort: "So far, this is a fairly routine speech by Abbas. Little by way of soaring rhetoric."

Calling the speech "ill-chosen," Foreign Policy editor Blake Hounshell says: "This is not a speech that will give Israeli doves much to go on."

Finally, Abbas gets around to mentioning the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment of truth ... we are the last people in the world to be occupied. Will the world allows this to continue by the state of Israel?

"Enough, enough, enough," says Abbas. "It is time for the Palestinian people to gain their freedom and their independence":

The time has come for the Palestinian spring, the time for independence. The time has come for our men, women and children to have normal lives. For them to be able to sleep without fear of what the next day will bring.

"My people desire to exercise their right to enjoy a normal life like the rest of humanity," says Abbas, winning a loud round of applause:

They believe what the great poet Mahmoud Darwish said: Standing here, staying here, permanent here, eternal here, and we have one goal, one, one: to be.

Abbas makes his plea for Palestine to be recognised as a full member of the UN. "This is a copy of the application," he says, interrupted by long applause. "I call upon the Secretary-General to transmit our proposal to the Security Council."

"Your support for the recognition of the state of Palestine is the greatest contribution to the state of peace in the region," Abbas tells the leaders in the general assembly. "I hope we shall not have to wait for long."

That's it, Abbas finishes after 35 minutes. Israel's delegation declined to join in the standing ovation and applause for Abbas as he steps down from the podium.

Israel and its supporters won't have liked Abbas's speech. Gaza's Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh isn't a supporter either:

The Palestinian people do not beg the world for a state, and the state can't be created through decisions and initiatives. States liberate their land first and then the political body can be established.

Israel's prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu is to speak shortly, once the leaders of Japan and Bhutan have finished speaking, according to the schedule.

So what happens next? Chris McGreal outlines the likely diplomatic moves:

• The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, hands the letter to the Lebanese chair of the security council. The request for Palestinian statehood could then move to a swift vote but that is unlikely. It is probable that it will be held up in "procedural delays" while fresh attempts are made to get peace negotiations off the ground. One way of delaying it is to hand the request over to a committee for consideration. This could take months.

• France and Britain are urging Mahmoud Abbas to take his request to the UN general assembly which has the authority to grant observer status not the full membership within the power of the security council.

• Abbas has said he is not in a hurry to go to the general assembly because he does not want it to be thought that the request to the security council is not serious. In addition, keeping the focus on the security council will help keep some of the diplomatic momentum generated this week.

• But the Palestinians have said that if there is no movement on the peace process or the security council comes to a vote and the US exercises its veto, they will then go to the general assembly where they will be able to claim the moral victory of a what is likely to be a clear majority in favour of recognising Palestine as an observer nation.

The Guardian's Harriet Sherwood and Phoebe Greenwood in Ramallah speak to Palestinians watching Abbas's speech:

Lama Inabi, 22, had driven from Bethlehem with her mother to Ramallah to join the crowd in Clock Square. The roads were festooned with Israeli flags, which had gone up over night. Settlers, she said, were driving their cars up and down the road. "It makes me anxious, but there's nothing I can do about it. I can't tell them to go away from here. Even if we had a state I won't be able to say that. Nothing will change. Any state under occupation is not a state," she said. "I support Abu Mazen [Abbas] and I hope there will be a state. I think many people here tonight imagine that he will get a state for us but I know that the US will use its veto. Then we will have to start again from the beginning, with negotiations."

More reaction from Ramallah, via the Guardian's Harriet Sherwood and Phoebe Greenwood:

Nayef Al Ghoul, 26, a trainer with the Palestinian Circus School, stood in silence, wrapped in his festive kiffiyeh in Clock Square, as he listened to a speaker announce to the crowd the death of a man in Nablus killed by IDF soldiers:

I feel so sorry for his family and I feel this is our life. If we get statehood tonight, it will be the same – there will be killing, arresting destroying our houses. He was just trying to go out to the street and say "yes" to the sate of Palestine. And he paid with his life. We don't want to have this violence. I can see in the past week, settlers have raided more and more small villages across the West Bank. Yesterday a settler in Hebron ran over a small child in their car. I think it will only get more violent after tonight." But of course I'm excited. We'll have our state, we are asking for our freedom as a human being. I can't wait to see what's going to happen next.

The speaker announced to thunderous applause from the crowd they are standing up to the the Israeli settlers in their rally this evening: "We are saying to the settlers and the settlements, go out of Palestine, it's our Palestine, not your land. Go out, go out, go out!"

The elated crowd responded with chants of "Free Palestine!"

Israel's Benyamin Netanyahu is now speaking – and he is making a fairly strong attack on the UN's institutions, rattling off a list of disreputable regimes and their links to the UN: "The UN theatre is the theatre of the absurd."

Noting that Hizbullah-run Lebanon is chairing the UN security council, "You couldn't make this up," he says.

"Today I hope that the light of truth will shine, if only for a few minutes, in a place that has been a hall of darness for my country" says Netanyahu, recalling his days as Israel's ambassador to the UN.

"As Israel's prime minister I didn't come here for applause. I came here to speak the truth," says Netanyahu, who gets a brief round of applause in spite of that. "The truth is Israel wants peace. The truth is I want peace."

Netanyahu asks the general assembly to imagine an Iran armed with nuclear weapons. "That would be a tragedy," he says.

Leaders must see reality as it is, not how it ought to be ... we cannot wish away the dangers of the present.

Describing the pressure on Israel to make concessions, Netanyahu says: "These people say to me constantly: just make a sweeping offer and everything will work out."

But Netanyahu says that "the militant Islamic storm that threatens us" makes it impossible to make idealistic peace offers, detailing withdrawals from Lebanon and Gaza: "When we left Gaza ... the moderates were devoured by the radicals."

Netanyahu's theme here is to contrast the theoretical position of making concessions for peace to the reality that Israel faces. Speaking of the withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Netanyahu says:

Ladies and gentlemen, we didn't get peace. We got war. We got Iran, which through its proxy Hamas threw out the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority collapsed in one day.

Netanyahu ridicules Abbas's talk of Palestinian "hopes and dreams": "Yes, hopes and dreams. And missiles."

The idealists paint "the crocodiles of militant Islam as bold statesmen," Netanyahu says.

Now Netanyahu is making familiar arguments of the small size and fragile geography of Israel, as justification for the dificulties it has in defending itself:

All these potential cracks in Israel's security have to be sealed before a peace deal is agreed. Because they won't be sealed afterwards.

"The Palestinians should first make peace with Israel and then get their state," is Netanyahu's conclusion.

Netanyahu brings up the case of Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier who was captured by Hamas in June 2006 and remains a hostage of Hamas – and suggests that his fate is worthy of a UN resolution.

Responding to Abbas's contention that the Israeli settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem are at the core of the conflict for Palestinians, Netanyahu says: "The core of the conflict is not the settlements, the settlements are a result of the conflict."

Now Netanyahu raises the most recent attempts by the US to restart peace negotiations, saying he was prepared to take part despite reservations: "President Abbas, why don't you join me? Let's stop negotiations about negotiations. Let's just get on with it."

Netanyahu then makes an open appeal to Abbas to meet:

If you wish I can come to Ramallah. Actually I have a better suggestion. We've both just flown thousands of miles to be in New York. We're in the same city. We're in the same building. It makes no sense for us not to be meeting today ... what is there to stop us from meeting today and start peace negotiations?

Saying he extends "the hand of peace" to Abbas, Netanyahu wraps up.

On CNN, former US state department deputy secretary Jamie Rubin says that Abbas made a better case while Netanyahu made an Israeli debating society speech.

More reaction to Mahmoud Abbas's UN speech inside the West Bank:

Ramallah's Clock Square is squeezed to capacity. There are groups waving on every visible rooftop waving the Palestinian flag and hundreds more dangling out of windows lining the square, craning to see the big screen showing the broadcast from New York. They have come to witness their president fulfil a long-held dream for an independent Palestinian state. As Abbas spoke, the square fell almost entirely silent. But the instant his speech drew to a close, ending weeks of anticipation and political wrangling with a demand for full statehood from the international community, the crowd erupted in a spontaneous, deafening cheer of "Abu Mazen!" [Abbas's honorific] Most expect a US veto will block the Palestinian application at the Security Council but their mood is elated and defiant. "We know we'll be disappointed but people are really cheerful tonight because it's the first time anything has happened since Yasser Arafat was here," said Achmad Amir, a Palestinian activist.

The full text of Mahmoud Abbas's UN address is available. The most powerful part is the second half of the speech, especially the Palestinian leader's plea:

The time has come for our men, women and children to live normal lives, for them to be able to sleep without waiting for the worst that the next day will bring; for mothers to be assured that their children will return home without fear of suffering killing, arrest or humiliation; for students to be able to go to their schools and universities without checkpoints obstructing them. The time has come for sick people to be able to reach hospitals normally, and for our farmers to be able to take care of their good land without fear of the occupation seizing the land and its water, which the wall prevents access to, or fear of the settlers, for whom settlements are being built on our land and who are uprooting and burning the olive trees that have existed for hundreds of years. The time has come for the thousands of prisoners to be released from the prisons to return to their families and their children to become a part of building their homeland, for the freedom of which they have sacrificed.

The formal mechanics of the Palestinian bid continue to move forward: the UN Secretary-General has now passed Mahmoud Abbas's letter asking for recognition to the chair of the security council.

It sounds like the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators are to issue a statement tonight.

Ban Ki-moon told reporters at the UN: "I hope that we will issue a Quartet statement right after this meeting, and I sincerely hope that the parties will respond constructively to our statement," before meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign affairs high representative Catherine Ashton.

Here's a summary of today's events:

• Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas formally submitted an application for full recognition of Palestine by the UN's security council

• The formal request was later passed to the security council, with a decision not expected for weeks and the US determined to veto the bid

• In a speech to the UN general assembly, Abbas received a sustained ovation after he declared: "Enough, enough, enough. It is time for the Palestinian people to gain their freedom and independence."

• Abbas blamed continued Israeli settlement building for blocking the prospects for peace, saying: "This settlement policy threatens to also undermine the structure of the Palestinian National Authority and even end its existence."

• Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu made an uncompromising response in his address to the general assembly: "The Palestinians must first make peace with Israel, and only then get their state."

• On the settlements, Netanyahu replied: "The core of the conflict is not the settlements, the settlements are a result of the conflict."

• The bid for statehood recognition sparked scenes of celebration across the West Bank

• A violent clash between settlers and Palestinians near the village of Qusra saw one Palestinian killed, the IDF confirmed in a statement

• The Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators is to issue a statement later today, ending months of silence on the Israel-Palestine peace process

On the Quartet statement, Reuters reports:

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said on Friday the Quartet had agreed on a statement calling for direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians to resume within one month and complete within one year. Ashton said the Quartet - the EU, the United Nations, the US and Russia - had draw up its statement after looking very carefully at the issues presented by both sides.

"We hope the parties will react positively," she told reporters at the UN.

This sounds similar to the proposal made by France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to the general assembly on Wednesday

My colleague Harriet Sherwood hears Israeli domestic reaction to the speeches by Netanyahu and Abbas to te UN:

Yossi Alpher, analyst and co-editor of the bitterlemons website:

All three speeches – Abu Mazen's, Netanyahu's and Obama's – were one-sided. None of this addresses the basic problem which is that Oslo process has run its course in attempting to address final status issues. We have to look beyond today to the coming weeks and months. There may be some momentum for new talks but what we need is a new paradigm for dealing with final status issues. Nobody produced that today. I didn't hear any really new ideas, just presentation of the same issues.

Zalman Shoval, former Israeli Ambassador to the US:



President Abbas' speech was clearly aimed at his home base, the Palestinian population and the Arab world. Netanyahu's speech was aimed at world opinion, especially the US.



I think both men achieved what they wanted to achieve.



I was disappointed that Abbas used all the code words of the most extreme Palestinians – Nakba, refugees, apartheid, criminals – which is certainly what the Palestinian population wanted to hear and will enhance his standing at home, even temporarily.



Netanyahu received more applause than I expected, particularly when he said settlements were not the cause of the war, they are a result of the war. He said Israel wants to negotiate without preconditions and can be flexible, even on the issue of settlements.



When the negotiations at Camp David with Clinton and Arafat broke down, Arafat resorted to physical violence with the Second Intifada. I think Abbas is going the same way but not with terror, his is a diplomatic intifada and I fear it will have the same results – instead of drawing closer together, we will be forced further and further apart.

The statement from Quartet calls for Israelis and Palestinians to return to peace negotiations and reach an agreement no later than next year.

The two parties should agree to an agenda and parameters for peace talks within a month and produce comprehensive proposals on territory and security within three months, the statement said. The Quartet said it expected the parties to "have made substantial progress" within six months.

The statement also said the Quartet would convene an international conference in Moscow "at the appropriate time" to assess progress. It also called for a donors conference to discuss international financial support for the Palestinian Authority.

The Guardian's Chris McGreal reads the Quartet statement:

The Quartet issued plans for new peace negotiations to begin within four weeks and to be completed within a year. The first issue to be tackled is borders. But Palestinian are unhappy the plan doesn't include a demand for an immediate freeze on settlement construction.

The UN has posted videos of the addresses to the general assembly by Mahmoud Abbas and Benyamin Netanyahu on its website.

More reaction from Israel, from Jonathan Spyer, columnist for the Jerusalem Post:

There was nothing novel in either of their speeches, both of them just restated their known positions.



The reaction of the UN was equally predictable. The general assembly is a known supporter of the Palestinian Authority, that is not shocking. The UN has passed resolution after resolution against Israel. But the Israeli leadership sees the UN as a talking shop. It was reassured by Obama's speech earlier this week and the standing ovations given to President Abbas will not that will shake that. They know the powers that matter understand the situation. If the general assembly were told that the world was flat and it was Israel that flattened it, they would vote in favour of that motion with a great majority. That about sums up the Israeli attitude to the UN. What will be interesting is what happens next, will the security council vote or delay?

The Associated Press analyses the Quartet's statement:

US and European officials had been trying to craft a statement that would itself outline parameters of the negotiations, including a reference to borders being based on the 1967 lines and affirm Israel's identity as a Jewish state. Instead, the Quartet focused on proposing deadlines for steps the two sides should take.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US supported the timetable:

The United States is very pleased that the Quartet was able to issue a statement today with a concrete and detailed proposal to begin a negotiation between the Israelis and the Palestinians without delay or pre-condition. The Quartet proposal represents the firm conviction of the international community that a just and lasting peace can only come through communications between the parties.

The Guardian's Chris McGreal has more on the Quartet statement and its timetable for negotiations:

The Middle East Quartet of the UN, EU, US and Russia has responded to events with a proposal for talks that will swiftly focus on the crucial issue of borders and reach a framework agreement by the end of next year. That met Abbas's demand that any future negotiations include a timetable to prevent Israel dragging them out but the Quartet proposal failed to address a Palestinian wish for a call for an immediate halt to settlement construction. Neither was it clear that the Quartet proposal meets Abbas's call for a break with the tried and failed framework of negotiations – meaning Washington's grip on mediation.

Time to wrap up this live blog for this evening, thanks for reading.