Abbas says he will not seek reelection

Abbas’s announcement follows months of failed attempts by the United States to restart direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. A weekend trip to the region by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accentuated the impasse, as the United States announced it was scaling back expectations, and Palestinians charged there was a growing pro-Israeli tilt to US policy.

Abbas’s 15-minute address on Palestinian television remained equivocal as to whether he intends to leave office in a matter of weeks. Such a move would throw an already chaotic Palestinian political system into full disarray. But advisers and analysts said it was possible he was merely venting frustration over a dialogue with the United States and Israel that has undercut him politically without any marked progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state.

“I do not wish to run for the upcoming presidential elections,’’ the 74-year-old leader said. “This decision is not for negotiation or maneuver.’’

With a list of detailed steps he thinks are needed to move peace talks forward, the speech seemed designed to leave options open while exerting pressure on Israel and the Obama administration. The address should “be understood as an urgent scream against the continuing pressure and bending our arms’’ by the United States and Israel, Abbas aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said immediately after the president spoke.

After initial optimism that Obama’s election would elevate Palestinian interests, Abbas has been steadily frustrated in his hope for quick results on issues he regards as central, such as a freeze on the construction of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Instead, his political standing has declined as decisions made in consultation with the United States proved unpopular locally while still failing to produce anticipated Israeli concessions.

“We are at a crossroads,’’ Abbas said at the start of his speech. “Month after month and year after year we have seen nothing but complacency and procrastination.’’ He added that he was particularly surprised in recent days when Clinton praised Israel for an offer on settlement construction that fell well short of Palestinian expectations.

Abbas warned that Arab anger over Israeli home demolitions in Jerusalem and recent clashes near the Al Aqsa mosque threatened a “religious war.’’

Clinton, asked about Abbas’s announcement, said that during a recent meeting with him “we talked about his own political future. I look forward to working with President Abbas in any new capacity.’’

A spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel would not comment.

Abbas’s speech followed a day in which Palestinian officials and political organizations lobbied him to reconsider a decision he has been mulling for at least several days. Abbas was given a strong endorsement yesterday by the Palestinian Liberation Organization central committee, which rejected his possible retirement. Palestinian television then displayed a long montage of fawning video footage. Local press also reported calls from Egyptian, Jordanian, and other officials to persuade him to remain in office.