a_u_p invents his own reality:
And settlements are going ahead full speed.
No, they most certainly aren't.
and then --
That isn't the point, though. The point was that Abbas, who controls the large part of the Palestinian "area", is telling his people he want's a peaceful settlement.
I'm not convinced that he is telling them that.
As you pointed out, at various public events with the world watching, he chooses his words carefully, and it appears that a "peace deal" is the palestinian's goal, but in his own "areas" I don't think his speeches reflect that at all.
The words of Abbas in Arabic indicate a desire to continue the resistance until the "liberation of Jerusalem" is realized and the "return" (of all 11-million palestinians) is allowed. In those ultimate aims, he is indeed a friend of HAMAS.
The main difference between HAMAS and FATAH is the former is not willing to play the diplomatic game at all, while Abbas & co. are following the 1974 Phased Plan of the PLO.
That is why the two groups argue (violently) ---- one prefers to keep to the diplomatic track and obtain the world's legitimacy for their little terrorist State, while the other doesn't give a fig for the Phased Plan and just believes that ongoing full-blooded murderous attacks are the right path.
If you don't believe this above assessment of mine is accurate, then you haven't been paying attention to the various "reconciliation" documents which have been brokered and signed between the factions.
(see: Marwan Barghouti's Hadarim Prison document and the Mecca Agreements)