Mr.Abbas has postponed elections indefinitely that were due for January, as some accused him of failing to persuade the Israelis to freeze settlement growth and grant other concessions.

VOA: standard.2009.11.16

Conservative councillor Mark Healey, authority chairman, said he will lobby government to get "a better grant settlement next time".

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But the Palestinian leadership argues that at least it will define the territory it wants for a state, which is being eroded by aggressive Israeli settlement building, and grant it formal recognition.

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There were only plans for a detailed settlement letter, specific revenue grant and a review of a cross-section of local authorities in 2014 to see how the money has been spent, she said.

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