Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is "not relevant" because of the victory of the Islamic Hamas in last month's elections and its takeover of the Palestinian parliament and Cabinet, Israel's acting foreign minister said Sunday. Tzipi Livni spoke after meeting US envoy David Welch, where they discussed how to relate to Abbas, the Fateh leader who is president of the Palestinian Authority, in light of the landslide Hamas victory over Fateh. Last week, Abbas picked Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh to form a new Cabinet. Livni's harsh statement reflected an apparent difference in approach between Israel and the US. Israel Radio reported that Welch put forward a policy in which the US would work with Abbas instead of the Hamas-led government, but Israel rejected that. Livni told Israel Radio that Abbas "can't be a fig leaf for a terrorist authority. Abu Mazen can't be a pretty face for ugly terror that hides behind it." She said the Hamas government must decide about Israel's demands for recognition and renunciation of terror, and Abbas "in this regard is not relevant." Without referring to the radio report, Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, spokeswoman of the US consulate in East Jerusalem, said: "In terms of Abu Mazen [Abbas], we remain fully committed and supportive of him."
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called Livni's remarks "totally unacceptable." Erekat, from Fateh, said: "The Israelis are trying to undermine the Palestinian people in general because they don't differentiate between one Palestinian and the other." Israel and the US both consider Hamas a terror group.