Abbas said he was surprised by the US 'favouring of the Israeli position' on illegal settlements [AFP]

"I have told our brethren in the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organisation] ... that I have no desire to run in the forthcoming election," Abbas said on Thursday in a speech broadcast live from his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"This decision is not a kind of compromise or a manoeuvre," he said, adding that he was not willing to debate the issue, rejecting moves to dissuade him from standing down.

The 74-year-old leader who replaced Yasser Arafat five years ago as the Palestinian president said: "We're at cross roads. We have made lots of sacrifices in order to be able to have a right to a state.

"Since the Oslo agreements in 1993, all these agreements are based on land and on peace and an end to Israel occupation of 1967.

"We've pledged with Israel to reach a two-state solution but month after month we've seen nothing but complacency and procrastination."

'Pivotal role'

Abbas criticised the US for "favouring" Israel but said the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is "still possible and achievable", adding that the US can play a "central and pivotal role" to achieve peace.

His decision not to take part in the elections comes days after Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, visited Israel to try to kickstart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process which has stalled over Israel's refusal to halt settlement activity in the occupied territories.

Clinton said on Thursday she looked forward to working with Abbas in "any new capacity".

PJ Crowley, spokesman for the US state department, said Washington would continue to push for a peace agreement, although he also acknowledged that the US and the Palestinian president have had their disagreements over illegal Israeli settlements and the conditions for peace talks.

"We certainly will continue our efforts and we certainly would encourage president Abbas to continue his lifelong efforts in pursuit of peace and a resolution that would lead to a Palestinian state," Crowley said.

"We still think that's possible and we're going to search for a variety of ways to get that."

Abbas decree

Abbas recenty issued a decree announcing  presidential and parliamentary polls, but the Hamas-run interior ministry in the Gaza Strip ordered Palestinians not to take part in the elections.

The interior ministry said in a statement the election had been called "by figures who do not have the right to declare it".

Abbas has of late been facing heavy criticism for defending a decision to delay the endorsement of a UN report on Gaza war crimes at the UN Human Rights Council.

Although the council later passed a resolution adopting the report, Abbas continues to be criticised by Hamas, a rival Palestinian faction in control of the Gaza Strip, which has called on Palestinians to reject his leadership.

The rift between Fatah and Hamas has derailed a unity deal the two factions have been pushing forward under the auspices of the Egyptian government.

After the storm that was generated by the October 2 delay of the vote on the Gaza war report, Hamas said it had asked Egypt's intelligence chief to put off the reconciliation deal until November.

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