Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held Tuesday a meeting with British Minister of State for Middle East Affairs on peace drive. The meeting tackled the latest developments in the region and negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians came to a halt in October 2010 over the Israeli government's decision to renew Jewish settlement building after a brief freeze. The Palestinians have since then linked the resumption of the talks with a complete cessation of settlements construction. Source: MENA