Abbas on Peace Process: Obama 'Led Me On'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas slamed President Barack Obama saying he failed to deliver a moratorium on Israeli settlements in Jerusalem and adding the Obama led him on in the peace process, Ynetnews.com reports.

In a Newsweek interview quoted by the website, Abbas said the American president exerted no pressure on Israel.

"It was Obama who suggested a full settlement freeze,” Abbas was quoted as saying. “I said ok, I accept. We both went up the tree. After that, he came down with a ladder and he removed the ladder and said to me, jump. Three times he did it.”

Abbas also slammed US Special Envoy George Mitchell's efforts as a mediator in the talks, saying he did not convey Palestinian ideas to the Israelis.

“Every visit by Mitchell, we talked to him and gave him some ideas. At the end we discovered that he didn’t convey any of these ideas to the Israelis. What does it mean?” Abbas said.

Abbas also criticized the Obama administration's handling of events in Egypt.