The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, has ruled out returning to peace talks with the Israelis unless they stop building settlements in all occupied territories.
His comments come as the US is trying to push Israel to suspend settlement building, excluding in East Jerusalem.
Mr Abbas said he had not yet received an official request from Washington to return to negotiations.
Talks between Israelis and Palestinians briefly resumed in September.
But they were aborted a few weeks later when Israel refused to extend a moratorium on settlement building.
"If it does not encompass Jerusalem, in other words if there is not a complete freeze on settlement in all the Palestinian territories including Jerusalem, we will not accept it," Mr Abbas told reporters after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
"If Israel wants to return to its settlement activities, then we can't go on. A settlement freeze must include all of the Palestinian territories and above all Jerusalem," he said.
BBC News
