Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has called for a unilateral withdrawal from most of the West Bank if peace talks with the Palestinians fail. In an interview with Israel Hayom, Mr Barak proposed uprooting dozens of Jewish settlements, although he said major settlement blocs would be kept. There would also still be a military presence along the border with Jordan. Negotiations on a two-state solution stalled in late 2010 following a dispute over settlement construction. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said he will not resume direct talks until Israel freezes all building work and accepts the ceasefire lines which existed before the 1967 Middle East war as the basis for the borders of a Palestinian state, with agreed modifications. About 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.